n/^i 


T 


\lniMzrsix,y  of  California  •  Berkeley 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/empireofwestacomOObrenrich 


EMPIRE 

OP      THE 

WEST 


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"Uhe 
Empire  of  the  West 


(A  COMPILATION) 


By  JOHN  BRENT 


ISSUED    BY 

PASSENGER  DEPARTMENT 

UNION  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  COMPANY 
OMAHA,  NEBRASKA 


Copyrighted  for 

Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company 

by 

E.  L.  LOMAX,  G.  P.  A., 

Omaha,  Neb. 

1910. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


1.  BUYING  A  WILDERNESS 

2.  THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

3.  NEAR  TO  NATURE'S  HEART 

4.  CLIMATE  AND  CLAIMANTS 

5.  WYOMING  VISTAS 

6.  OUR  PLAYGROUNDS 

7.  SALT  LAKE  CITY  AND  ITS  TEMPLE 

8.  OGDEN  CANON 

9.  YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK 

10.  FOUR  GREAT  ACHIEVEMENTS 

11.  A  BIT  OF  WESTERN  MAGIC 

12.  SHOSHONE.  THE  WESTERN  NIAGARA 

13.  THE  EMPIRE  BUILDER 

14.  DRIVING  THE  GOLDEN  SPIKE 

15.  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER 

16.  APPLE  LAND 

17.  CRATER  LAKE 

18.  ON  THE  HEIGHTS 

19.  AN  INLAND  VOYAGE 

20.  YOSEMITE,  THE  ENCHANTED  VALLEY 

21.  THE  BIG  TREES 

22.  LAKE  TAHOE 

23.  PROGRESS  OF  CITIES 

24.  SAFETY,  SERVICE.  SPEED 

25.  A  CHARMING  ILLUSTRATION 


vrr/oit!  \J  1  ''iO)i  'jVik 


Westward 


"I  hear  the  tread  of  pioneers. 
Of  nations  yet  to  be ; 
The  first  low  wash  of  waves,  where  soon 
Shall  roll  a  human  sea. 

"The  rudiments  of  empire  here 
Are  plastic  yet  and  warm  ; 
The  chaos  of  a  mighty  world 
Is  rounding  into  form  ! 

"Each  rude  and  jostling  fragment  soon 
Its  fitting  place  shall  find. 
The  raw  material  of  a  state, 
Its  muscle  and  its  mind ! 

"And,  westering  stilL  the  star  which  leads 
The  New  World  in  its  train 
Has  tipped  with  fire  the  icy  spears 
Of  many  a  mountain  chain." 


BUYING  A  WILDERNESS 

The  man  who  administered  the  oath  of  office 
to  the  first  President  of  the  United  States  was 
destined  a  few  years  later  to  render  a  still  more 
illustrious  service  to  his  country. 

The  charm  still  lingers  on  this  old  page  of  our 
history,  weighted  as  it  was  with  such  immeasurable 
consequences  not  realized  by  our  forefathers. 
Every  school-boy  knows  the  story  of  Mr.  Living- 
ston's appointment  as  American  minister  to 
France;  of  his  instructions  from  President  Jef- 
ferson to  purchase  the  Island  of  Orleans  for  a 
dockyard  and  depository;  and  of  the  minister's 
amazement  when  Marbois,  the  French  Treasury 
minister,  offered  to  sell  him,  not  an  island,  but  a 
domain  of  imperial  extent,  the  heart  of  the  con- 
tinent, reaching  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the 
English   possessions  on   the   north. 

The  President  had  been  authorized  to  expend 
$2,000,000,  but  this  proposal  called  for  $15,000,- 
000.  Mr.  Monroe  was  sent  over  as  an  associate 
of  the  minister,  but  Mr.  Livingston  had  assumed 
the  responsibility  before  Mr.  Monroes  arrival 
and  had  practically  accepted  the  proposed  terms, 
as  there  was  no  time  for  delay.  Both  ministers, 
on  April  30,  1803,  concluded  a  treaty,  whereby 
France  ceded  to  the  United  States  the  vast  terri- 
tory known  as  Louisiana,  "forever  and  in  full 
sovereignty." 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

Then  the  storm  broke.  The  purchase,  undeni- 
ably, was  somewhat  revolutionary,  thoroughly 
unconstitutional  as  affecting  future  membership 
in  the  Union,  and  as  menacing  the  rights  of 
the  original  parties  to  the  Federal  contract.  Mr. 
Jefferson,  himself  a  strict  constructionist,  did  not 
consider  it  a  constitutional  act;  "the  executive," 
he  said,  "has  done  an  act  beyond  the  constitu- 
tion; the  legislature  must  ratify  it  and  throw  them- 
selves upon  the  country  for  an  act  of  indemnity." 
The  Senate  ratified  the  treaty  and  conventions, 
and  on  December  20,  1803,  the  Territory  of 
Louisiana  passed  to  the  United  States. 

Our  most  interesting  notes,  aside  from  the 
question  of  the  legality  of  this  acquisition,  relate 
the  arguments  brought  forward  by  the  opponents 
to  the  purchase.  "Some  were  worried  lest  the 
East  should  become  depopulated;  lest  a  great 
immigration  should  set  in;  lest  old  men  and  young 
men,  abandoning  homes  and  occupations,  should 
cross  the  Mississippi,  and,  perhaps,  found  there  a 
republic  of  their  own.  Some  feared  that  mere 
extent  of  territory  would  rend  the  republic  apart; 
that  no  common  ties  of  interest  could  ever  bind 
together  under  one  government  men  who  fought 
Indians  and  trapped  bears  around  the  headwaters 
of  the  Missouri  and  men  who  built  ships  and 
caught  fish  in  the  harbors  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean." 
And  then  the  purchase  would  enormously  increase 
the  public  debt.  Two  millions  for  an  island  and 
possibly   as    much    ground    on    the    mainland   as  is 

6 


BUYING  A  WILDERNESS 


now  covered  by  the  city  of  New  Orleans  was 
enough,  in  all  conscience,  but  $15,000,000  for  a 
"wilderness"  containing  over  one  million  square 
miles  w^as  revolutionary,  unconstitutional,  and  not 
to  be  permitted.  Even  Mr.  Livingston  bent  to  the 
storm  he  had  raised,  by  pleading  that  we  could  sell 
a  part  of  the   tract   if   we   could  not  use   it. 

But  few  of  the  men  of  1803  really  understood 
the  vast  importance  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  in 
its  relation  to  the  development  of  American 
nationality.  That  which  now  makes  the  crowning 
pride  of  the  American  citizen,  that  the  States  of 
the  Union  are  spread  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific,  w^as  held  then  by  many  patriots  as  the 
extreme  of  danger.  Though  the  Lewis  and  Clark 
expedition  of  1804  and  succeeding  years  gave  the 
first  accurate  information  regarding  the  basins  of 
the  Missouri  and  the  Columbia,  thus  throwing  a 
flood  of  light  upon  the  then  unknown  part  of 
our  newly-acquired  territory,  still  the  opposers 
of  expansion  remained  unconvinced.  As  late  as 
1825  this  feeling  was  still  strong.  Besides  the 
immense  area  on  this  side  of  the  Stony  (Rocky) 
Mountains,  contained  in  this  purchase,  there  were 
also  the  lands  lying  beyond,  w^hich  now^  constitute 
the  States  of  Idaho,  Oregon,  and  Washington;  and 
in  1824-5  a  strong  effort  was  made  in  Congress  to 
secure  this  territory  against  the  conflicting  claims 
of  Great  Britain.  Mr.  Smyth  of  Virginia  declared 
in  the  House  that  "the  limits  of  the  federation 
could  not  be  safely  extended   beyond  the    Stony 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

Mountains;  he  would  not  object  to  one  or  two 
tiers  of  States  beyond  the  Mississippi,  but  no 
farther.  "  In  the  Senate  Mr.  Dickerson  of  New 
Jersey  pronounced  the  bill  absurd.  "A  member 
of  Congress,  '  he  said,  "traveling  from  his  home  to 
Washington  and  return,  would  cover  a  distance  of 
9,200  miles;  at  the  rate  of  thirty  miles  per  day,  and 
allowing  him  forty-four  days  for  Sundays,  three 
hundred  and  fifty  days  would  be  consumed,  and 
the  member  would  have  fourteen  days  in  Washing- 
ton before  he  started  home;  it  would  be  quicker 
to  come  around  Cape  Horn  or  by  Behring  Straits, 
Baffin  Bay,  and  Davis  Strait  to  the  Atlantic,  and 
so  to  Washington.  True,  the  passage  is  not  yet 
discovered,  except  upon  our  maps,  but  it  will  be 
as  soon  as  Oregon  is  made  a  State."  Mr.  Dick- 
erson's  geographical  eloquence  was  so  effective 
that  the  bill,   on  his  motion,  was  tabled. 

So  much  stress  upon  the  old  story,  because 
this  is  the  stone  almost  rejected  by  the   builders. 

Prophesies  of  evil  grew  with  the  years.  Morse, 
in  his  "Universal  Geography,"  declared,  "All  set- 
tlers who  go  beyond  the  Mississippi  River  will  be 
lost  forever  to  the  United  States."  Pike,  whose 
name  is  attached  to  the  giant  peak  which  was  to 
serve  as  a  magnet  to  draw  adventurous  spirits 
from  the  East  across  the  plains,  a  region  con- 
demned by  him  to  everlasting  sterility,  made 
official  report  to  the  War  Department:  "From 
these  immense  prairies  may  be  derived  one  great 
advantage     to     the     United     States,     namely,     the 


BUYING  A  WILDERNESS 


restriction  of  our  population  to  some  certain 
limits,  and  thereby  a  continuation  of  the  Union. 
They  will  be  constrained  to  limit  themselves  to 
the  borders  of  the  Missouri  and  the  Mississippi, 
while  they  leave  the  prairies,  incapable  of  cultiva- 
tion, to  the  wandering  and  uncivilized  aborigines 
of   the  country." 

Even  as  late  as  1858  the  North  American  Review 
declared:  *'The  people  of  the  United  States  have 
reached  their  inland  western  frontier,  and  the 
banks  of  the  Missouri  River  are  the  shores  at 
the  termination  of  a  vast  ocean  desert,  over  one 
thousand  miles  in  breadth,  which  it  is  proposed 
to  travel,  if  it  all,  with  caravans  of  camels,  and 
which  interpose  a  final  barrier  to  the  establishment 
of  large  communities,  agricultural,  commercial,  or 
even  pastoral." 

These  were  the  prophesies.  What  of  their  ful- 
fillment? The  War  of  the  Rebellion,  with  all  its 
sacrifice  of  life,  shedding  of  blood  and  expendi- 
ture of  treasure,  was  not  an  unmixed  evil.  Rank- 
ing close  to  its  prime  results,  the  extinction  of 
human  slavery  and  the  homogeneity  of  the 
republic,  came  that  great  factor  in  the  unification 
of  the  nation,  the  building  of  the  Union  and 
Central  Pacific  railways.  The  "caravan  of  the 
camel,"  predicted  in  1858,  became  in  realization 
the  express   train  in    1868. 

In  1860  there  were  2,100  miles  of  railway  west 
of  the  Mississippi  River  and  only  twenty-six  and 
one-half  miles  west  of  the   Missouri.     The  railway 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

mileage  west  of  the  Mississippi  now  exceeds  95,000 
miles.  West  of  the  Mississippi  have  been  founded 
some  of  the  most  important  centers  of  population 
and  commerce  in  the  United  States.  At  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi  we  have  New  Orleans,  the  com- 
mercial emporium  of  the  Gulf  States.  In  the  center 
is  St.  Louis,  among  the  most  prosperous  of 
American  cities,  reaching  out  clear  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  and  the  Gulf  of  California  with  its  jobbing 
trade  and  manufacturing  enterprises.  Up  near  the 
headwaters  of  the  Mississippi  are  St.  Paul  and 
Minneapolis,  the  greatest  milling  and  lumber 
centers  in  America.  On  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  lies 
Galveston  and  near  the  Rio  Grande  is  San  An- 
tonio, both  with  growing  international  trade.  In  the 
heart  of  the  corn  belt  are  Kansas  City,  St,  Joseph, 
Omaha,  Sioux  City,  Topeka,  Des  Moines,  Lincoln, 
and  Council  Bluffs.  Near  the  crest  of  the  Rockies 
is  Denver,  the  beautiful,  and  south  of  the  Colorado 
capital  are  Colorado  Springs,  Pueblo,  Santa  Fe,  and 
Albuquerque.  Beyond  the  Wahsatch  Range,  Salt 
Lake  City,  the  famous  capital  of  Utah,  challenges 
attention,  and  points  the  w^ay  to  the  golden  shores 
of  the  Pacific,  of  which  San  Francisco  is  the  com- 
mercial metropolis,  with  Los  Angeles  holding  a 
profitable  monopoly  of  the  semi-tropical  fruit  trade, 
which  has  assumed  enormous  proportions  Then 
come  Portland,  "where  flows  the  Oregon,"  and 
Tacoma  and  Seattle,  contesting  the  supremacy  of 
the  vast  commerce  of  Puget  Sound.  Other  impor- 
tant and  growing  commercial   centers    have    been 


BUYING  A  WILDERNESS 


established  in  the  mountain  States.  Notable 
among  these  are  Boise,  Spokane,  Butte,  Helena, 
Ogden,  Laramie,  Cheyenne,  and  Deadwood. 

When  we  took  possession  in  December,  1803, 
the  eastern  boundary  was  the  Mississippi  River 
from  its  source  to  the  thirty-first  parallel;  but  where 
that  source  was  nobody  knew,  and  the  boundary 
below  31  degrees  was  long  in  dispute.  Americans 
claimed  as  far  eastward  as  the  Perdido  River;  but 
Spain  would  acknowledge  no  claim  east  of  the 
Mississippi  and  south  of  the  thirty-first  parallel 
save  the  Island  of  Orleans.  The  boundary  on  the 
southeast  was  never  definitely  drawn  until  the  treaty 
of  1819,  when  we  secured  Florida  at  the  cost  of 
$5,000,000. 

By  the  convention  of  1818  with  Great  Britain, 
the  utmost  northern  boundary  of  Louisiana  was  to 
begin  "at  the  most  northwestern  point  of  the  Lake 
of  the  Woods,  run  due  north  or  south,  as  the  case 
might  be,  to  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  north 
latitude  and  westward  along  that  parallel  to  the 
summit  of  the  Stony  Mountains."  The  region 
beyond  (now  Idaho,  Washington,  and  Oregon)  was 
claimed  by  both  parties.  From  this  time  for  nearly 
thirty  years  the  "struggle  for  possession"  alternately 
waxed  and  waned  until  heroic  Dr.  Whitman  made 
his  immortal  ride  of  4,000  miles  in  midwinter  and 
saved  Oregon  to  the  Union.  This  was  in  1843, 
and  by  the  treaty  of  1846  the  matter  was  peace- 
fully settled.  We  are  apt  to  congratulate  our- 
selves  on   peaceful  victories;  and  often    they   are 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

cheaply  won  in  every  sense.  If  the  old  war-cry  of 
**Fifty-four,  forty,  or  fight"  had  stood  in  1846  for 
anything  we  meant  to  stand  by — in  effect,  fighting, 
and  not  temporizing — we  should  today  be  in  con- 
trol of  a  coast  line  connecting  us  with  Alaska,  and 
masters  of  a  country  wherein  could  arise  no 
complications. 

A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  the  extent  of 
territory  acquired  by  this  purchase.  Out  of  it  have 
been  carved  nine  whole  States.  The  States,  and 
parts  of  States,  included  in  the  purchase  were  as 
follows  and  their  population  in  1909  is  shown: 

Louisiana 1,713,000 

Arkansas 1,750,000 

Missouri 3,750,000 

Kansas 1,800,000 

Nebraska 1,500,000 

Iowa 2,500,000 

North  Dakota 600,000 

South  Dakota 575,000 

Montana 410,000 

Wyoming 130,000 

Minnesota 2,000,000 

Colorado 800,000 

17,528.000 

If  we  include, 

Utah 350,000 

Idaho 350.000 

Oregon 725,000 

Washington 1,250,000 

California __  2,150,000 

4.825.000 

we  have  22,353,000  as  the  population  covering 
the    Louisiana     Purchase.     Suppose    we     take     in 

12 


BUYING  A  WILDERNESS 


all  the  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  how- 
soever acquired,  including  Alaska,  and  we  find  the 
population  to  be: 

Oklahoma 1,490,000 

Texas 4.745.000 

New  Mexico 450,000 

Arizona 200,000 

Nevada 100,000 

Alaska  (whites) 35,000 

7.020.000 

Add  this  to  the  States  already  enumerated  and 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  Empire  of  the  West,  in  its 
full  extent,  shows  a  population  in  1909  of  29,37  3,- 
000  as  against  the  assumed  figures  of  90,000,000 
for  the  census  of  1910,  for  the  United  States — nearly 
one-third  of  our  entire  population. 

Interesting  and  very  profitable  is  a  study  of 
the  rise  and  progress  of  these  States,  this  great 
domain  we  call  the  trans-Mississippi  country.  It 
w^ill  do  no  harm,  and  possibly  much  good,  for  us  to 
review  our  history — too  often  neglected  both  in 
public  and  private  education.  Surely  nothing 
becomes  an  American,  young  or  old,  more  than  an 
accurate,  thorough,  intelligent  knowledge  of  his 
country,  not  in  narrow  sections,  but  with  a  view 
as  broad  as  the  land  in  which  he  lives.  A  doubt 
arises  whether  a  Nebraska  youth  knows  much 
about  Kentucky  with  her  years  of  fascinating  his- 
tory, and  this  doubt  becomes  intensified  when  we 
consider  whether  a  Massachusetts  lad  has  a  clear, 
practical  view  regarding  the  State  of  Nebraska. 
There  is  some  danger  of  State  insularity, 

13 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

While  this  is,  perhaps,  natural,  still  it  would 
seem  we  should  be  loyal  to  our  ideals,  and  to  the 
country  and  the  flag  which  mean  so  much  to  us  all. 
The  numerous  expositions  and  conventions  ought 
to  and  have  brought  together  an  immense  number 
of  our  own  people,  and  out  of  this  commingling  and 
fraternizing  should  come  a  better  understanding 
of  each  other's  resources,  broader  view^s  of  the 
underlying  strength  of  States  and  communities, 
and  a  correspondingly  increased  pride  in  birth- 
right and  country — the  whole  country— this  United 
States  of  ours,  North  and  South,  East  and  West. 
Coming  to  these  gatherings  our  older  brothers  and 
sisters  have  seen  those  evidences  of  culture  which 
they  may  have  deemed  well-nigh  absent  from  this 
region.  The  progress  in  music,  literature  and  art 
has  kept  pace  with  all  material  advancement. 

There  was,  practically,  no  boundary  defined  by 
either  of  the  parties  to  the  sale  when  we  purchased 
the  heart  of  the  continent.  May  not  we  take  it  as 
a  happy  omen?  For  there  has  been  no  boundary 
or  limit  as  yet  to  progress  in  many-sided  advance- 
ment during  these  one  hundred  and  seven  years. 
The  most  fantastic  dreamer  of  them  all  could  not 
have  foreseen  in  those  dawning  days  of  the  century 
how  his  children  and  his  children's  children  would 
people  and  develop  the  wilderness  which  we 
bought  from  France. 


14 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

'For  he  must  blaze  a  nation's  ways,  with  hatchet  and  with  brand, 
Till  on  his  last-won  wilderness   an  empire's  bulwarks  stand." 

That  particular  part  of  the  "Great  American 
Desert"  through  which  we  will  journey  lies  immedi- 
ately west  of  Omaha  and  Kansas  City,  extending 
beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific  Coast. 
The  trip  will  be  mainly  over  the  section  of  country 
traversed  by  the  Union  Pacific  and  allied  lines  of  the 
Harriman  System.  This  will  comprise  the  States  of 
Nebraska,  Kansas,  Colorado,  Wyoming,  Utah,  Idaho, 
Oregon,  Washington,  California,  and  a  glimpse  of 
Montana,  for  these  are  the  imperial  domains  once 
placarded  as  unfit  for  human  habitation. 

"What  do  you  want  of  that  vast  and  worthless 
area" — it  is  Daniel  Webster  addressing  the  Senate 
in  1843 — "that  region  of  savages  and  wild  beasts, 
of  deserts,  of  shifting  sands  and  whirling  wind,  of 
dust,  of  cactus  and  prairie-dogs?  To  what  use 
could  we  ever  hope  to  put  those  great  deserts  and 
those  endless  mountain  ranges,  impenetrable  and 
covered  to  their  very  base  with  eternal  snow? 
What  can  we  ever  do  with  the  western  coast,  a 
coast  of  3,000  miles,  rock  bound,  cheerless  and 
uninviting?" 

Sixty-six  years  after,  these  States,  if  called  on, 
can  answer  roll  call,  and  give  good  and  sufficient 
reasons  for  being  in  fexistence.      Let  us  call  them! 

T5 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

NEBRASKA 

For  the  purposes  of  taxation,  the  real  and 
personal  property  owned  in  this  original  part  of 
the  American  Desert  is  valued  at  $600,000,000, 
and  as  this  is  scaled  at  one-fifth  value,  this  barren 
tract  is  worth  $3,000,000,000.  Our  improved  lands 
are  worth  $145,000,000;  unimproved,  $190,000,- 
000.  In  1909  we  raised:  Of  oats,  61,825,000 
bushels,  valued  at  $21,630,000;  of  wheat,  51,650,- 
000  bushels,  valued  at  $44,185,000;  and  of  corn, 
194,000,000  bushels,  valued  at  $97,030,000.  In 
cereals  alone,  that  is  corn,  winter  and  spring  wheat, 
oats,  barley,  and  rye,  we  produced  309,495,000 
bushels,  valued  at  $165,797,000;  of  potatoes, 
8,190,000  bushels,  valued  at  $4,914,000;  and  of 
hay  2,325,000  tons,  valued  at  $13.650,000— a 
total  of  $184,661,000.  We  rank  third  among  the 
corn-producing  States;  Omaha  is  first  as  a  wool 
and  butter  market,  and  we  have  the  most  wealth 
per  capita  of  any  State  in  the  Union.  In  our 
western  borders  where  irrigation  is  necessary  we 
have  obtained  magnificent  results. 

KANSAS 

In  1908  we  had  6,900,000  acres  of  wheat, 
which  produced  77,000,000  bushels,  valued  at 
$63,600,000;  of  corn  we  had  7,000,000  acres, 
which  yielded  1 5 1 .000,000  bushels,  worth  $82,640.- 
000.  The  total  value  of  our  farm  products  and 
live    stock    was    $475,244,000.       For    ten    years 

i6 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

past  we  have  averaged  per  year  57,600  bushels 
of  wheat;  153,456,000  bushels  of  com;  2,155,000 
bushels  of  rye,  and  27,580  bushels  of  oats.  In 
1889  we  raised  from  6,820,000  acres,  273,888,000 
bushels  of  corn.  We  made,  in  1908,  42,205,000 
pounds  of  butter  for  which  we  received  $9,413,000, 
and  in  1907  we  sold  $10,300,000  worth  of  poultry; 
the  record  for  1908  was  $9,300,000.  The  value  of 
horses,  mules,  cows.  Other  cattle,  sheep,  and  swine 
in  the  State  amounts  to  $197,500,000.  The  milch 
cows  alone  number  687,432  and  are  valued  at 
$21,310,000.  We  have  1,653  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments, with  $126,000,000  invested  capital  and 
the  value  of  their  output  is  $234,000,000,  annually. 
There  are  10,250  miles  of  railroad  in  the  State. 
Irrigation   has   been  our  good  angel. 

COLORADO 

In  the  fifty  years  of  our  existence  we  have 
taken  from  our  mines  of  gold,  silver,  lead,  and 
copper  over  one  billion  dollars,  and  yet,  as  a 
farming  State,  we  are  independent  of  our  mineral 
production.  Our  output  for  1909  was  $27,000,000 
in  gold  and  $13,000,000  more  in  other  metals,  and 
the  value  of  our  farm  products — corn,  wheat, 
oats,  etc., — was  $41,000,000,  while  the  combined 
value  of  farm  products — live  stock,  wool,  hay, 
etc.,— was  $147,000,000.  We  have  2,500,000 
acres  of  irrigated  lands,  30,000  miles  of  ditches  and 
laterals  which  cost  us  $36,000,000.  We  produced 
$7,500,000    in    fruits,     and    $12,500,000    in    beet 

I? 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

sugar  last  year.  In  fen  years,  from  1900  to  1909, 
we  raised  7,800,000  tons  of  sugar  beets,  for 
which  the  farmers  received  $46,000,000  and  the 
factory  laborers,  $15,000,000;  the  value  of  the 
sugar  product  was  $87,000,000.  There  are  648 
manufacturing  industries  in  this  State,  employing 
38,335  men  and  the  value  of  the  output  was 
$93,600,000;  manufactured  wheat  flour  amounted 
to  $24,000,000,  and  we  raised  11,200,000  bushels 
of  potatoes.  We  have  598  reservoirs  which  cost 
$63,000,000  having  a  capacity  of  106,000,000,- 
000  barrels  of  water;  10,736,000  tons  of  coal  were 
mined  and  sold  for  $21,472,000;  our  dairy  product 
sold  for  $31,000,000,  and  the  hay  crop  was  worth 
$17,600,000;  live  stock  in  the  State,  4,100,000 
head,  valued  at  $75,200,000,  and  for  live  stock 
exported  we  received  $42,200,000;  mine  dividends 
paid  for  the  year  $11,000,000:  Irrigation  made  all 
this  possible. 

WYOMING 

Seamed  as  we  are  with  coal  veins  and  saturated 
with  oil,  still  our  agricultural  products  amounted 
in  1909  to  $25,000,000.  while  our  6,500,000  tons 
of  coal  brought  $21,000,000.  We  have  800,000 
cattle  in  the  State  and  we  shipped  40,000,000 
pounds  of  wool  worth  $8,500,000.  We  sold  1,000,- 
000  sheep  for  $4,500,000;  exported  275,000  cattle 
which  sold  for  $8,500,000;  horses,  25,000  which 
brought  $500,000;  and  our  mines  of  gold,  copper, 
and     iron     yielded     $2,000,000.     Our     irrigation 

i8 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

propositions,  projected  and  completed,  represent 
an  outlay  of  $50,000,000.  Irrigation  has  been  our 
strongest  friend  and  helper. 

UTAH 

Oldest  of  the  desert  pioneers.  We  accepted 
the  "desert"  as  we  found  it  and  made  it  a  garden 
spot.  Our  mines  of  gold,  silver,  copper,  lead,  zinc, 
and  coal  in  1909  produced  $28,133,000  and  paid 
the  stockholders  in  dividends  $7,104,000.  We 
raised  439,000  tons  of  sugar  beets,  which  pro- 
duced 99,500,000  pounds  of  sugar,  valued  at 
$4,478,000;  the  wool  clip  brought  $4,000,000;  we 
produced  2,000,000  pounds  of  honey;  our  canning 
factories  packed  of  fruits  and  vegetables  530,000 
cases;  there  are  77,606  horses  and  mules  in  the 
State,  valued  at  $3,322,000;  of  cattle,  215,151, 
valued  at  $3,502,000;  of  sheep,  1,408,248,  valued 
at  $4,103,000,  and  our  assessed  valuation  is 
$173,000,000.  Irrigation  has  made  all  things  pos- 
sible for  us. 

IDAHO 

Out  of  $90,000,000  value  in  products  for  1909 
but  $25,000,000  came  from  our  mines.  We 
shipped  28,000,000  pounds  of  wool  and  there  are 
3,500,000  sheep  in  the  State.  Our  timber  district 
comprises  25,000  square  miles  of  trees  containing 
60,000,000,000  feet  of  lumber;  our  live  stock  is 
valued  at  $10,000,000;  we  have  25,000,000  in- 
vested in  manufactures;  there  are  5,000,000  acres 

19 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

of  land  under  cultivation  and  irrigation;  we  pro- 
duced 40,000,000  pounds  of  beet  sugar  worth 
$1,800,000;  lumber  cut  400,000,000  feet  valued  at 
$7,500,000;  our  crops  of  wheat,  oats,  fruits,  hay, 
gardens,  butter,  and  eggs,  sold  for  $53,000,000. 
We  rank  third  as  a  sheep  and  wool  producing 
State. 

MONTANA 

Although  hidden  in  the  mountains  we  stand  first 
in  some  things,  ranking  all  the  States  in  sheep  pro- 
duction, of  which  there  are  4,585,000  in  the  State, 
and  our  wool  product  for  1909  was  35,000,000 
pounds,  valued  at  $7,000,000;  our  copper  mines 
yielded  $46,000,000;  silver,  $8,500,000;  gold, 
$4,000,000;  and  lead,  $2,500,000;  there  are  5  30,000 
range  cattle  in  the  State,  and  we  exported  245,000 
head,  valued  at  $10,000,000.  In  farm  products, 
we  raised  11,700,000  bushels  of  oats,  averaging  49 
bushels  per  acre;  4,000,000  bushels  of  spring  wheat, 
averaging  29  bushels  per  acre;  we  have  the  highest 
yield  per  acre  in  cereals  of  any  State   in  the  Union. 

OREGON 

Half  of  the  world  comes  to  us  for  lumber.  We  cut 
2,000,000,000  feet,  valued  at  $30,000,000,  in  1908, 
and  a  large  proportion  of  this  output  went  to  the 
Orient,  Europe,  and  Australia.  We  have  on  hand 
40,000  square  miles  of  timber;  this  measures  about 
300,000,000,000  feet  of  merchantable  lumber, 
a  supply  for  over  a  hundred  years,  and  the  value  of 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 


this  standing  timber  at  the  present  commercial  rate 
is  $3,620,000,000.  Copenhagen  and  Hamburg, 
London  and  Cape  Town  come  to  us  for  lumber. 
Our  wheat  and  flour  realized  $25,000,000;  dairy, 
$17,200,000;  fruit,  $6,000,000;  eggs,  $3,000,000; 
wool,  20,450,000  pounds,  value  $4,000,000;  live 
stock,  $10,000,000;  salmon  industry,  $4,000,000; 
hops,  $2,000,000;  potatoes,  $3,000,000;  white 
paper  mills,  $3,000,000;  mines,  $3,000,000.  Our 
seaport  town  of  Portland  has  a  jobbing  trade  of 
$12  5,000,000,  and  although  one  hundred  miles  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  the  heaviest  laden  ships 
of  commerce  lie  along  its  wharves.  We  shipped 
from  this  port  in  1909  for  foreign  export; 
Wheat,  5,442,626  bushels,  valued  at  $5,217,323; 
flour,  365,726  barrels,  valued  at' $1,530,495;  and 
lumber,  85,952,510  feet,  valued  at  $971,913;  our 
coastwise  trade  in  the  same  commodities  were: 
Wheat,  4,235,952  bushels,  valued  at  $4,512,530; 
flour,  262,148  barrels,  valued  at  $1,435,533;  and 
lumber,   95,549,700  feet,  valued  at  $1,223,533. 

WASHINGTON 

We  are  a  part  of  that  "rocky  and  desolate 
coast,"  and  one  of  the  stones  almost  rejected  of 
the  builders.  We  produced,  in  1909:  Wheat 
35,095,000  bushels,  valued  at  $34,000,000;  other 
grains.  14,580.000  bushels,  valued  at  $10,250,000; 
hay  and  forage  product,  valued  at  $18,250,000;  fruit 
yield,  $17,500,000;  dairy  and  poultry  output, 
$15,000,000;  aggregate  value  farm  products,  $110,- 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

450.000;  lumber  cut,  4,000,000,000  feet,  valued  at 
$50,000,000;  shingle  output,  7,000,000,000  feet, 
valued  at  $14,000,000;  total  lumber,  shingle,  and 
wood  manufacturers,  $105,000,000;  salmon  pack, 
1,400,000  cases,  valued  at  $8,250,000;  total  fish- 
eries product,  $11,000,000;  coal  mined,  3.700.000 
tons,  valued  at  $12,250,000;  farm,  forest,  fish,  and 
mine  products,  $251,450,000;  flour  manufacture, 
3,650,000  barrels,  valued  at  $15,000,000;  lumber 
exports,  foreign,  188,692,000  feet;  lumber  ship- 
ments, coastwise,  850,000,000  feet;  rail  shipments, 
east,  1,200,000,000  feet;  shingle  shipments,  by  rail, 
5,500,000,000;  cars  lumber  and  shingles  shipped, 
100,000;  flour  exports,  1,122,717  barrels,  valued  at 
$4,593,144;  foreign  wheat  shipments,  4,488,144 
bushels;  foreign  exports,  1909,  $26,507,736;  direct 
foreign  imports,  $28,341,875;  foreign  commerce,  in 
1909,  $54,849,611;  in  1899,  $23,644,278;  total 
assessed  property  valuation,  $790,419,826;  cotton 
exports,  66,968  bales,  valued  at  $3,891,637;  salmon 
exports,  $2,103,643;  exports  to  Alaska,  $14,099,- 
383;  standing  timber  in  the  State,  195,000,000,000 
feet. 

CALIFORNIA 

Not  *'serene,  indifferent  to  fate,"  are  we  of  the 
Golden  State,  but,  tried  by  disaster,  we  have  won 
by  hard  work.  In  our  broad  valleys  we  produced 
in  1909:  Of  wheat,  11,550.000  bushels;  barley, 
31,270.000  bushels;  corn,  1,750,000  bushels;  oats, 
6,280,000  bushels;  beet  sugar,  185,000,000  pounds; 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

butter,  48,468,000  pounds;  cheese,  6,162,000 
pounds;  beans,  202,400,000  pounds;  hops,  13,875,- 
000  pounds;  wool,  15,000,000  pounds;  honey, 
6,250,000  pounds;  oranges  and  lemons,  40,500 
cars;  fresh  fruits,  apricots,  cherries,  figs,  apples,  etc., 
15,280  car  loads;  raisins,  140,000,000  pounds; 
prunes,  150,000,000  pounds;  dried  fruits,  peaches, 
apricots,  figs,  apples,  etc.,  88,250,000  pounds; 
almonds  and  walnuts,  11,000  tons;  assessed  valua- 
tion of  the  State,  $2,300,000,000.  We  are  first 
in  petroleum  production,  48,306,000  barrels, 
valued  at  $25,240,000;  gold,  $20,000,000;  from 
1887  to  1897,  inclusive,  our  mines  yielded  $608,1  73,- 
000— of  this  sum  $321,138,000  was  gold. 

ALASKA 

Farthest  outpost  on  the  mainland  of  our  con- 
tinent under  the  American  flag,  we  were,  perhaps, 
the  least  welcome  of  any  of  the  territory  acquired 
since  the  Louisiana  Purchase.  But,  even  as  a  bad 
bargain,  we  have  in  the  past  thirty  years  alone 
returned  on  our  original  cost  of  $7,200,000  a  total 
in  wealth  production  of  over  $300,000,000,  The 
annual  value  of  canhed  salmon  is  over  $10,000,000, 
and  in  recent  times  our  yearly  gold  output  has  been 
$22,000,000.  Here  in  this  wilderness  we  have 
nearly  400  miles  of  railroad  and  our  resources  in 
minerals  and  timber  are  almost  beyond  estimate. 
In  twenty-nine  years,  from  1880  to  1908,  our  min- 
eral production  was  $148,000,000  and  of  this  sum 

23 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

$142,000,000  was  gold,  and  the  remainder  comprised 
silver,  copper,  tin,  coal,  and  marble. 

And  this  is  the  answer  of  the  "desert"  to  the 
prophets  and  its  message  to  the   world  today. 

STRIKING  COMPARISONS 

Statistical  students,  and  it  maybe  those  also  who 
do  not  care  for  the  "eloquence  of  figures,"  will  be 
surprised  at  some  of  the  results  obtained  by  com- 
parative analysis.  And  first  it  will  be  noted  that 
in  every  gold-bearing  State  agriculture  has  long 
since  outstripped  the  mine  product.  Colorado 
would  continue  to  be  a  farmer's  paradise  if  every 
mine  within  her  borders  suspended  operations, 
for  her  mining  product  for  the  year  realized 
$42,000,000,  while  her  farm  produce  and  live 
stock  brought  in  nearly  $150,000,000.  "Soil  as 
the  basis  of  all  wealth"  is,  of  course,  axiomatic; 
but  the  absolute  value  of  this  heritage  few  of  us 
understand.  Take  a  handful  of  1908  figures;  this 
was  an  average  prosperous  year  in  the  Western 
Empire: 

The  total  gold  and  silver  output  for  the  country 
for  1908  was  $122,600,000;  the  Nebraska  corn  and 
hay  crop  was  worth  $130,300,000.  The  value  of 
live  stock  in  that  year  was  $1  39,000,000.  The  cop- 
per production  for  the  country  was  $124,419,000, 
more  than  gold  and  silver  combined;  Nebraska's 
corn  and  wheat  that  year  were  valued  at  $126,565,- 
000.  Iron  ore  production  was  $81,845,000,  nearly 
$7,500,000   less  than   the   value   of   the    Nebraska 

24 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 


corn  crop  which  was  valued  at  $89,300,000. 
The  lead  and  zinc  production  of  the  whole  country 
is  just  equaled  by  the  hay  and  spring  wheat  crop 
of  Nebraska— value  $44,000,000.  All  building 
materials  produced  in  the  United  States,  aggregat- 
ing $305,830,000,  fall  short  by  $46,600,000  of 
equaling  Nebraska's  grain  crop  and  live  stock  for 
that  year.  The  salt  product  was  nearly  29,000,- 
000  barrels,  worth  $7,550,000;  Nebraska's  alfalfa 
crop  was  worth  $1  5,000,000. 

POPULATION 

The  growth  in  population  is  not  the  least  among 
the  wonders  of  the  Western  Empire.  The  table 
on  page  27  shows  in  condensed  form  the  advance 
from  1850  to  date. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  1850  there  were 
117,000  people  on  this  million-square-miles  tract, 
and  that  this  population  was  located  in  but  three 
of  the  ten  States  as  we  now  know  them.  There 
were  92,000  in  California,  drawn  thither  by  the 
lure  of  gold;  the  Mormon  exodus  to  Utah  accounted 
for  11,000  more;  and  the  country  opened  up  by  the 
fur  traders  in  Oregon  as  far  back  as  1811,  and  which 
received  a  new  impetus  in  1843  from  heroic  Mar- 
cus Whitman  and  his  devoted  band,  could  muster 
but  13,000.  Those  who  obeyed  the  magnetic 
force  of  Californian  gold  sands  outnumbered  four 
to  one  all  the  missionaries  and  real  pioneers  and 
the  adventurers  of  the  far  north.  If  the  claims  of 
these  States  for  population  in  1909  are   verified  by 

25 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

the  census  of  1910,  one  more  bewildering  fact  will 
be  added  to  the  long  extended  surprise  list  of  the 
Western  Empire.  For,  if  the  estimates  are  correct, 
there  are  nearly  9,500,000  people  living  on  this 
tract  which  was  a  desert  with  117,000  inhabitants 
sixty  years  ago. 


Ilarvestin^r  Sugar  Beets,  South  Platte  Valley,  Colorado 


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In  the  PJatte  Cafion,  Colorado 


NEAR  TO  NATURE'S  HEART 

Colorado  is  a  word  of  Spanish  origin,  and  means 
"red"  or  "colored,  '  in  allusion,  probably,  to  the 
ruddy-colored  sandstone  prevalent  in  the  State. 
Colorado  has  inspired  as  much  sentiment  as  any  of 
the  older  States,  and  Pike's  Peak  stands  in  poem, 
picture,  and  romance  the  same  as  Plymouth  Rock. 
And  there  is,  after  all,  fair  reason  for  this.  The 
story  of  the  gold  camp,  with  its  dramatic  move- 
ment, tragic  tints  of  color,  and  episodes  of  humor 
and  pathos,  makes  strong  material  for  history;  and 
the  narrative  of  the  struggles  and  triumphs  of 
those  pioneers,  who  sat  down  before  these  tower- 
ing mountain  walls  to  build  a  State,  is  beyond 
romance,  and  partakes  of  the  heroic. 

This  grand  young  commonwealth  is  also  called 
the  Centennial  State,  having  been  admitted  to  the 
Union,  August  1,  1876. 

EARLY  ARISTOCRACY 

Traces  of  the  real  early  settlers,  the  blue- 
blooded  aristocracy  of  away  back,  are  found 
today  in  southwestern  Colorado.  They  were  "cliff- 
dwellers,"  and  on  the  Rio  Mancos  their  houses 
may  still  be  seen.  It  is  the  opinion  of  many 
learned  gfentlemen  that  they  were  the  descendants 
of  the  ancient  Aztecs — but  it  doesn't  matter — they 

29 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

were  the  first  settlers,  beyond  any  sort  of  doubt, 
and  that  honor  remains  solid  with  them.  They 
were  a  fairly  agreeable  people,  according  to  their 
lights,  somewhat  given  to  living  in  contracted 
quarters  and  to  having  controversies  in  which  stone 
knives  were  used;  but  they  gave  way  in  time  to 
the  Mexican  borderers,  leaving  no  recorded  history 
save  these  mute,  swallow-like  homes.  The  Mexi- 
can came  to  stay;  he  is  there  yet,  in  pretty  strong 
array  in  the  southern  counties,  and  as  far  north  as 
Pueblo.  Old  Mexican  land  grants  still  cover  some 
of  the  richest  land  in  southern  Colorado. 


CORONADO 

Seiior  Francisco  Coronado,  a  Spanish  hidalgo, 
headed  an  expedition  into  this  country  in  1340-42. 
Like  all  dreamers  of  his  day — those  real  knights 
of  conquest  and  adventure — ^he  believed  the  coun- 
try to  be  filled  with  gold.  He  records  that  he 
explored  thoroughly,  but  found  none.  It  is  proba- 
ble that  Senor  Coronado  was  not  so  keen  a  gold- 
seeker  as  is  the  average  prospector  of  today,  for 
he  must  have  trodden  on  millions  of  the  precious 
metal  in  his  wanderings.  There  is  a  long  "time 
gulf,"  as  the  voice  of  the  old  Spanish  explorer  dies 
away;  the  Spaniards  and  the  Indians  possessed 
the  country,  and  traded  and  intermarried,  and 
swindled  each  other,  in  a  genial  way,  with  great 
mutual  satisfaction. 

30 


NEAR  TO  NATURE'S  HEART 

ZEBULON  PIKE 

There  do  not  appear  to  have  been  any  explor- 
ing expeditions  or  other  invaders  for  a  long  time, 
and  the  people  had  a  rest  for  a  matter  of  250 
years.  Colorado,  you  will  remember,  was  a  part 
of  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  in  1803;  and,  in  the 
autumn  of  1806,  Captain  Zebulon  Pike  was  explor- 
ing the  valleys  of  the  Arkansas.  Coming  north, 
his  attention,  day  by  day,  was  attracted  toward  a 
great  peak,  which  seemed  to  beckon.  So  he  came 
into  these  gorgeous  passes  and  tried,  in  an  amateur- 
ish sort  of  way,  to  get  to  the  top  of  the  mountain. 
In  his  account  of  his  travels,  which  was  published 
in  1810,  is  recorded  the  story  of  his  attempt,  which 
failed  most  ingloriously.  He  never  ascended  that 
lofty  height,  but,  in  the  pathetic  language  of  the 
present,  "he  got  there  just  the  same,"  by  giving  his 
name  to  the  mountain;  hence  it  is  Pike's  Peak  even 
unto  this  day.  This  bad  example  has  found  base 
imitators  up  to  the  present,  for  there  be  tourists 
who  will  stoutly  aver  that  they  have  been  there 
also  and  witnessed  the  sun  rise. 

Captain  Pike  deposes,  concisely,  as  follows: 
"We  commenced  ascending;  found  it  very  difficult, 
being  obliged  to  climb  up  rocks,  sometimes  almost 
perpendicular;  and,  after  marching  almost  all  day, 
we  camped  in  a  cave,  without  blankets,  victuals,  or 
water.  We  had  a  fine,  clear  sky,  whilst  it  was 
snowing  at  the  bottom.  Some  distance  up  we 
found  buffalo;  higher  still  a  new  species  of  deer, 
and  pheasants.      On  arriving  at  the  summit  of  the 

31 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 


chain,  we  found  the  snow  middle  deep;  no  sign  of 
bird  or  beast  inhabiting  this  region.  The  summit 
of  the  grand  peak,  which  was  entirely  bare  of 
vegetation  and  covered  with  snow,  now  appeared 
to  the  distance  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  miles  from  us, 
and  as  high  again  as  what  we  had  ascended,  and 
would  have  taken  a  whole  day's  march  to  arrive  at 
its  base,  when  I  believe  no  human  being  could 
have  ascended  to  its  pinnacle."  The  truth  is  that 
the  gallant  officer  had  taken  the  wrong  trail,  and 
emerged  on  a  mountain  spur  fifteen  miles  distant 
from  the  peak  proper. 

LONG  AND  FREMONT 

Colonel  S.  H.  Long  next  visited  Colorado  in 
1820,  named  a  peak  after  himself,  and  went  away. 
He  did  not  climb  his  mountain,  either. 

General  John  C.  Fremont  ("Pathfinder  ")  came 
along  in  1843,  and  the  report  of  his  explorations 
first  awakened  public  interest  in  the  Territory. 
Although  Pike,  Long,  and  Fremont  bore  testimony 
to  the  great  mineral  wealth  of  the  country,  they 
did  not  report  the  discovery  of  precious  metals. 
The  next  year  Fremont's  expedition  returned  from 
California  by  another  route  and  thoroughly  explored 
North,  Middle,  and  South  Parks,  reporting  many 
interesting  observations.  The  only  result  of  these 
reports  seems  to  have  been  the  importation  of  a 
few  French  and  half-breed  fur-traders,  who  settled 
down  and  grew  up  with  the  country  "and  the 
Indians. 

32 


NEAR  TO  NATURE'S  HEART 

GOLD 

After  the  close  of  the  Mexican  War,  the  country 
began  to  be  settled  by  white  men,  retired  army 
officers,  and  the  like,  and  matters  ran  along,  in  an 
uneventful  way,  until  George  A.  Jackson  stumbled 
upon  the  shining  golden  sand  in  the  bed  of  Clear 
Creek  (now  Idaho  Springs),  on  the  7th  day  of 
January,   1859. 

On  May  7,  1909,  a  multitude  of  people,  com- 
prising the  foremost  citizens  of  Colorado,  gathered 
at  Idaho  Springs  for  the  purpose  of  dedicating  a 
monument  to  the  old  prospector  whom  ex-Governor 
Adams  aptly  termed  the  "founder  of  the  common- 
wealth." The  structure  consists  of  a  granite  base 
surmounted  by  a  huge  boulder  of  native  rock,  and 
upon  its  face  inscribed  in  bronze  are  the  following 
words:  "On  this  spot  was  made  the  first  discovery 
of  gold  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  by  George  A. 
Jackson,  January   7,    1859.      Placed,   May  7,  1909." 

DENVER 

Denver  was  a  trading  post  almost  from  the 
first.  The  town  was  named  in  honor  of  the  (then) 
governor  of  Kansas,  General  J.  W.  Denver,  of 
Leavenworth. 

The  Denver  of  today  is  a  splendid  metropolitan 
city.  With  Colorado  it  has  grown,  keeping  pace 
with  the  advancement  of  the  State,  and  reflecting 
at  all  times  all  that  was  most  energetic,  all  that  was 
most  progressive,  in  its  history.  From  a  small 
collection  of  weather-worn  tents,  it  has  grown  into 

33 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

a  prosperous  and  beautiful  city,  with  broad  streets 
and  boulevards,  with  splendid  business  blocks  and 
elegant  houses  and  a  population  which  aggregates 
200,000.  With  all  the  facilities  of  trade  and  travel 
which  money  and  enterprise  can  construct;  with  all 
the  advantages  of  social,  educational  and  religious 
culture  which  the  spirit  of  the  age  can  suggest; 
with  all  the  opportunities  for  the  pleasures, 
conveniences,  and  comforts  of  life  which  fortune 
or  refinement  may  desire,  and  with  a  future  before 
it  unrivaled  for  commercial  prosperity  or  industrial 
renown — this  is  the  Denver  of  today. 

This  is  assuredly  true  in  every  particular. 
Denver  is  a  peculiarly  attractive  city  socially,  and 
its  commercial  importance  is  known  to  all  the 
world.  It  is  a  grand  stopping  place  for  the  invalid 
tourist,  wherein  he  may  accustom  himself  to  a 
bracing  atmosphere  before  attempting  the  higher 
elevations,  Denver  being  at  the  medium  altitude 
of  5,182  feet.  No  matter  how  warm  it  may  be  in 
the  day  (and  the  mercury  does,  occasionally,  climb 
to  90  degrees),  the  nights  are  unvaryingly  cool — a 
blanket  being  found  comfortable  in  midsummer. 
There  are  many  beautiful  walks  and  drives  in  and 
around  the  city,  and  the  tourist  can  spend  a 
delightful  week  here  in  this  "Queen  City  of  the 
Plains." 

CLEAR  CREEK  CANTON 

In  the  old  days  one  took  the  stage  up  Clear 
Creek;  and,  although   there  was  a  boulder  or  two 

34 


NEAR  TO  NATURE'S  HEART 

to  be  met  with,  and  the  creek  to  be  crossed  every 
few  hundred  yards,  it  was  considered  a  good  road, 
as  roads  went  in  the  early  sixties  in  Colorado.  Up 
this  narrow  defile  came  a  steady,  continuous  pro- 
cession of  heavy-laden  wagons,  with  supplies  of  all 
sorts  for  the  mining  towns.  It  is  the  one  canon 
nearest  Denver  accessible  to  the  tourist.  It  is 
15  miles  to  Golden,  across  a  level  stretch  of 
country,  which  does  not  look  much  like  a  "desert,  " 
or  a  "dry,  void  tract,"  but  rather  suggests  some 
cozy  valley  in  the  Far  East — comfortable  farm 
houses,  fields  of  waving  grain,  shady  groves,  and 
shining  streams  of  water. 

From  the  observation  car  can  be  seen  the  smoke 
of  young  leviathan  Denver,  behind — as  the  train 
heads  for  those  towering  foothills — the  outer  sen- 
tinels of  the  great  canon  beyond  in  the  mountains. 
The  train  flashes  into  Golden — famous  as  an  old 
"camp,**  and  the  first  capital  of  the  State,  now  a 
thriving,  prosperous  place.  The  town  lies  on  the 
site  of  an  ancient  lake;  around  the  base  of 
the  mountain  walls  surrounding  it  may  be  seen  the 
water-marks  of  prehistoric  floods.  From  here  we 
plunge  at  once  into  the  gorge,  and  for  nearly  sixty 
miles  follow  this  picturesque  marvel. 

There  is  nothing  like  Clear  Creek  Canon  in 
America.  It  is  not  exaggeration  to  say  that,  for 
wild  rugged  scenery.  Nature  in  her  most  majestic 
mood  failed  to  provide  its  equal,  and  it  can  not 
be  described.  The  skilled  litterateur  may  throw 
together  masses  of  gorgeous  words,  as  if   to  rival 

35 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

the  grandeur  of  those  rocky  fastnesses,  but  words 
seem  puny  and  inadequate.  And,  after  many  a 
day-dream  when  one  is  restored  to  the  quiet  of 
home,  the  effort  to  place  the  picture  again  before 
the  fancy  is  fruitless;  there  remains  a  vision  of  a 
resistless  mountain  torrent  rushing  madly  down 
a  wild  chasm,  which  can  be  likened  only  to  one  of 
those  appalling  scenes  in  the  "Inferno;"  overhead 
a  ^launting  hand's  breadth  of  gleaming  sky;  the 
grim  walls  close  enough  to  touch,  at  times,  as  you 
flit  by;  the  fantastic  shapes  carved  upon  the  moun- 
tain, bold  profiles  and  fairy  castles;  the  tranquil 
summer  land  in  which  you  occasionally  dash,  when 
the  caiion  widens  into  a  few  brief  acres,  green, 
shady,  inviting;  a  passing  glimpse  of  a  dazzling, 
snow^-summit,  far  aw^ay  in  the  upper  ether — these, 
and  more,  one  may  recall  and  still  there  remains 
an  indefinable  sense  of  something  elusive  that  you 
have  not  held  fast,  and  can  not  describe.  It  is  the 
spirit  of  beauty,  the  power  of  pure  ennobling 
scenery,  which  can  not  be  taken  away  from  its 
mountain  home  or  ever  be  reproduced  in  words. 

CENTRAL  CITY 

At  Forks  Creek,  29  miles  from  Denver,  a 
branch  of  the  canon  shoots  off  to  the  right.  Here 
a  line  runs  to  Central  City  and  Blackhawk,  11 
miles  distant.  The  next  point  made  is  the  far- 
famed  Idaho  Springs.  Gashed,  seamed,  and  rent 
are  the  mountains  in  every  direction,  but  a  lovely 
plateau  of  ten  or  fifteen  acres  is  left   in   the   valley, 

36 


NEAR  TO  NATURE'S  HEART 

ample  room  for  a  beautiful  town.  The  grim  out- 
line is  softened  by  a  view  up  no  less  than  five 
canons,  and  the  sides  of  these  steep  defiles  are 
green  with  mountain  pines  and  shrubs  w^hich  cling, 
in  all  sorts  of  impossible  places,  to  their  mountain 
home. 

THE  MAN  FROM  RUSSELL  GULCH 

There  is  a  little  gulch  about  three  miles  from 
Idaho  Springs,  midway  between  that  town  and 
Central  City,  called  Russell  Gulch;  and  gold  was 
found  there  also  in  1859. 

But  few  remain  of  the  many  houses  which  made 
this  a  great  "camp  '  fifty  years  ago;  Central  City,  as 
it  grew,  being  a  more  desirable  place  of  residence. 
Passing  through  the  straggling  remnants  of  the  vil- 
lage, one  notes,  among  the  last  of  the  structures  on 
the  left  side,  a  strongly  built,  uncompromisingly 
ugly  log  cabin.  A  sturdy  man  built  it  in  1860,  and 
worked  like  a  Trojan  at  mining  and  at  w^hatever 
his  hands  could  find  to  do. 

He  had  the  usual  ups  and  downs  of  a  miner's 
life,  rich  one  day  and  poor  the  next,  but  he 
plodded  on,  saying,  "She's  got  to  come;"  and 
one  day  he  "struck  it."  A  lucky  vein  of  ore 
turned  up  for  him,  and  he  sold  out  for  $23,000. 
He  vanished  from  Russell  Gulch;  the  cabin  still 
stands  there  by  the  roadside,  solitary  and  uninhabi- 
ted; a  few  of  the  old-timers  alone  remember  the 
man  who  lived  there,  but  millions  of  people  all  over 
the  civilized  world  have  heard  of  George   M.  Pull- 

37 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

man,  and    have   traveled   in    his    palace    cars.      He 
was  the  man  who  lived   in  that  log  cabin   in    1860. 

GEORGETOWN 

But  push  along  for  Georgetown,  14  miles 
distant,  a  handsome  town,  and  built  as  a  place  of 
permanency  and  established  residence. 

The  bright  sunshine,  the  pure  atmosphere,  the 
mountain  breeze,  the  cool,  dew^less  nights,  render 
life  in  this  portion  of  the  Rockies  a  pleasurable  and 
inspiring  existence.  During  the  winter  the  tempera- 
ture is  even  less  severe  and  more  equable  than  the 
winters  of  Denver,  the  city  of  the  finest  climate  on 
the  continent.  The  snowfall  is  so  light  that  sleigh- 
ing and  winter  sports  are  almost  unknown,  while 
the  winter  season  by  no  means  interferes  with  the 
mining  industry. 

The  railway  follows  the  water  level  of  Clear 
Creek  into  the  heart  of  the  mountains,  and,  at  the 
virtual  head  of  the  canon,  where  Georgetown  is 
situated,  every  part  of  the  range  is  reached  not 
with  undue  exertion,  but  with  comfort  and 
pleasure. 

Perched  above  Georgetown  is  the  famous 
"Loop,"  that  wonderful  piece  of  engineering  skill, 
now  world  famous. 

Passing  above  west  Clear  Creek,  with  just  a 
glimpse  of  the  picturesque  bridge  that  spans 
Devil's  Gate,  the  road  runs  under  the  great  viaduct, 
and  rises  and    rises    until    you    have    left   the  city 

3« 


NEAR  TO  NATURE'S  HEART 

hundreds  of  feet  below;  and  to  the  north,  but  with 
a  sudden  turn,  it  is  again  seen,  w^ith  the  train  this 
time  rushing  toward  the  city  and  still  climbing; 
again  a  turn  to  the  east;  now,  ninety  feet  below  is 
the  track  just  passed. 

Away  again  on  the  farther  side  of  the  mountain; 
again  crossing  to  the  west  side,  suddenly  turn- 
ing to  the  east  until  the  "Big  Fill,"  76  feet 
high- — too  sharp  a  curve  for  a  bridge — ^has  given 
another  circle  to  the  track,  then  with  a  turn 
to  the  west  around  the  slope  of  Mount  McClellan; 
still  another  view  of  Georgetown  with  all  the  tracks 
in  view,  each  seeming  to  have  no  relation  to  its 
neighbor,  until  another  valley  in  the  mountains 
discloses  the  pretty  village  of  Silver  Plume,  the 
close  ally  and  best  friend  of  Georgetown.  But 
the  "Loop"  is  a  railway  on  a  "bender;"  it  is  the 
apotheosis  of  gyration,  the  supreme  luxury  of 
entanglement — yet  all  wisely,  clearly,  skillfully 
planned — a  wondrous  monument  to  human  genius 
and  engineering  skill. 

SOME  FACTS  ABOUT  THE  FAMOUS  "LOOP" 

The  "Loop"  was  built  in  1881-82,  under  the 
direction  of  Robert  Blickensderfer,  C.  E.  The 
high  bridge  is  on  a  curve,  the  radius  of  which  is 
319  V  feet.  The  track  under  the  bridge  is  8,69  7 
feet  above  sea  level.  Elevation  of  track  on  bridge 
at  point  of  crossing  is  8,772  feet.      The  track  on  the 

39 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

bridge  is  7  5  feet  higher  than  the  track  below,  and 
is  90  feet  higher  than  the  water  level  in  Clear 
Creek  under  the  bridge. 

The  gradient,  or  rise  of  track,  is  185  feet  to  the 
mile,  or  3^  feet  to  the  100  feet.  Silver  Plume  is 
9,176  feet  above  sea  level;  Georgetown  8,476  feet. 
Actual  distance  between  the  towns  by  rail,  four  and 
one-tenth  miles;  by  wagon  road  only  one  mile. 
Horseshoe  curve,  on  the  Big  Fill,  has  a  radius  of 
191  feet.  Between  Denver  and  Silver  Plume,  the 
railroad  track   crosses  Clear  Creek  eighteen  times. 

A  LIFETIME  IN  A  DAY 

You  have  been  steadily  rising  in  the  world  since 
the  beginning  of  this  trip,  and  at  Waldorf  station, 
although  at  an  exalted  altitude,  are  still  far  below 
that  summit  w^hereto  you  are  bound.  But  here  are 
the  seven  stages  of  ascent: 

Feet  Miles 

Denver 5,170  0 

Golden 5,680  16 

Idaho  Springs 7,543  37 

Georgetown 8,476  50 

Silver  Plume 9,176  54 

Waldorf 11.666  63 

Mount  McClellan 14.007  70 

It  is  four  hours  from  your  summer  room  in 
Denver  to  the  snowbanks  and  ice  palaces  on  Mount 
McClellan.  The  aerial  railway  is  constructed  in  a 
series  of  switchbacks  and  lands  the  visitor  on  the 
mountain  top.  It  is  claimed  that,  from  this  majes- 
tic outlook,  106  peaks  are  visible — some  of  them  to 

40 


NEAR  TO  NATURE'S  HEART 

the  far  north  in  Wyoming,  and  others  to  the  west 
where  the  Utah  line  rims  the  horizon.  One  sixth  of 
the  entire  State  of  Colorado  is  before  us  in  one 
immense  sweep.  It  has  been  happily  said  that  this 
little  journey  comprises  a  "life-time  in  a  day." 
Fortunate  are  those  who  reach  this  almost  celestial 
air  at  dawn;  then,  when  the  mountain  tops  begin  to 
flush  and  tremble  and  glow,  and  the  warm  color 
steals  down  into  the  valleys  far  below,  disclosing 
unimagined  distances  all  aflame  with  light,  you  will 
have  known  what  it  is  to  see  the  sun  rise  on 
McClellan.  No  description  can  give  any  idea  of 
the  majestic  grouping  of  mountain  light  and 
snowy  range,  of  intermingling  valley  and  cloud 
rifts,  towering  pine,  and  the  gorgeous  gushes  of 
sunshine  suddenly  falling  like  a  cascade  over  all. 
The  vision  from  these  supreme  heights  is  glorious 
beyond  description — a  sight  from  the  Delectable 
Mountains  like  unto  that  which  the  Pilgrims  saw. 

BOULDER 

Boulder,  on  the  Union  Pacific,  29  miles  from 
Denver,  is  the  seat  of  the  State  University,  and  the 
State  Chautauqua  grounds. 

The  mountain  resorts  near  Boulder  are  easy  of 
access  by  railroad  or  carriage,  and,  in  addition  to 
well-equipped  hotels,  there  are  beautiful  lakes  and 
crystal  streams  abounding  in  mountain  trout. 
Stages  run  daily  from  Boulder  to  these  points, 
where  there  are  good  hotels  and  excellent  accom- 
modations.     Because    of    its  natural    healthfulness, 

41 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

its  delightful  climate,  and  its  charming  location,  a 
sanatorium  has  been  established.  The  city  and  its 
beautiful  environment  of  valley  and  hills  have 
many  superb  attractions  to  the  seeker  after  pleas- 
ure and  health. 

Greeley  and  Fort  Collins,  still  farther  north,  are 
as  justly  famed  as  Boulder  Valley. 

Here  is  a  soil  and  climate  that  will  gro^v  any- 
thing in  cereals  and  fruits.  There  is,  in  the  orderli- 
ness and  the  broadly-defined  lines  of  the  country, 
that  which  reminds  one  of  the  choicest  part  of  New 
England,  only  the  towns  are  more  thriving  than 
any  of  the  nice-looking,  but  terribly  poor,  hamlets 
in  the  older  States. 

This  is  the  garden  valley.  Here  are  raised  all 
the  vegetables  and  fruits  which  supply  the  dwellers 
on  the  high  tablelands  for  many  miles  around  and 
many  a  far  distant  State.  Down  this  pleasant 
plain  we  sweep — ^  the  sentinel  mountain  chain 
always  on  our  right;  past  Fort  Collins  with  its  fine 
buildings  and  shaded  streets — past  many  a  field 
of  waving  grain,  and  over  many  a  mountain  stream 
— until  we  glide  slowly  into  Boulder. 

And,  then,  O  honest  American  citizen — you 
who  raved  about  Switzerland,  but  never  visited 
Colorado  behold  this  vision!  There  is  a  grandly 
impressive  background  of  mountain  heights  flushed 
now  with  a  tender  play  of  light  and  color;  the 
remoter  peaks  snow-capped,  the  nearer  foothills 
covered  with  verdure,  and  at  their  feet,  nestling  in 
security,  is  Boulder. 

42 


NEAR  TO  NATURE'S  HEART 

As  far  as  you  can  see,  down  the  valley,  there 
are  silver,  shining  streams,  tiny  lakes  here  and 
there,  and  many  a  fair  farm  land  outlined  in  dim 
repose;  back  of  all,  the  everlasting  hills;  before 
you  a  noble  landscape;  overhead  a  dome  as  clear 
and  blue  as  ever  arched  Italian  skies. 

COLORADO  SPRINGS 

Colorado  Springs  is  73  miles  south  of  Denver, 
and  the  ride  is  one  of  the  most  charming  in 
Colorado.  While  moving  through  a  beautiful  val- 
ley, which  gives  evidence  of  fine  cultivation,  there 
are,  on  either  side,  magnificent  view^s  of  peculiarly 
majestic  scenery.  We  are  almost  under  the 
shadows  of  the  ''Prince  of  the  Range,  '  and  in  the 
presence  of  the  most  impressive  panorama  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains;  to  the  far  south,  the  Spanish 
Peaks  and  the  lesser  brotherhood  of  snow-crowned 
summits  loom  and  fade  and  fade  and  loom,  through 
the  tranquil  summer  air,  like  the  baseless  fabric  of 
a  dream.  The  mountain  wall  close  at  hand,  the 
vivid  green  in  the  near  foreground,  and  the  distant 
vision  of  ever-lengthening  receding  centennial 
peaks  seem  like  a  view  from  an  enchanted  valley. 

Colorado  Springs  is  essentially  a  home  resort. 
There  are  more  people  who  have  summer  homes 
here  than  in  any  of  the  other  frequented  places  in 
Colorado.  There  are  good  hotels  in  abundance 
and  any  number  of  attractive  boarding  houses;  but 
such  is  the  beauty  and  salubrity  of  the  place,  that 
visitors  who  arrive  here  make    up    their  minds  to 

43 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

stay  for  the  entire  season,  and,  as  a  result,  they 
gather  about  them  the  essentials  of  home  life  and 
home  comfort.  There  are  no  factories  of  any  sort 
in  Colorado  Springs — nothing  to  take  away  from  its 
quiet,  secluded  beauty.  The  streets  are  broader 
than  in  most  cities,  and  lined  with  shade  trees. 
The  city  has  30,000  people,  is  well  lighted  and 
paved,  and  possesses  all  the  modern  equipments 
for  luxury  and  comfort  in  living. 

A  few  miles  distant  from  Colorado  Springs,  and 
connected  by  two  lines  of  railway  and  street  cars, 
is  world-famous 

MANITOU 

Everyone  has  heard  of  it,  hundred  of  thousands 
have  been  there  and  thousands  more  each  succeed- 
ing summer  wend  their  way  to  this  queen  of 
mountain  resorts.  For  Manitou  possesses  a  charm 
which  lingers — a  magic  spell  which  comes  unbid- 
den to  haunt  the  traveler  who  has  once  rested 
under  its  witching  glamour. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  just  a  few  practical 
details  before  we  enter  upon  the  poetry  of  the 
place  and  the  glory  of  its  environment.  Manitou 
lies  in  a  cup-like  glen,  surrounded  by  mountains, 
and  has,  for  an  impressive  background,  high  above 
the  surrounding  summits,  the  lonely  majesty  of 
Pike's  Peak.  Its  regular  inhabitants  number,  per- 
haps, 3,000  or  4,000;  there  are  electric-light  plants 
in  full  working  order,  three  miles  of  streets  lighted 
by    arc     lights;     a     beautiful     avenue    eighty    feet 

44 


NEAR  TO  NATURE'S  HEART 

wide  runs  through  the  village.  On  this  avenue  are 
numberless  mansions,  villas,  and  cottages.  These 
residences  are  peculiarly  elegant  in  design  and 
construction.  In  the  center  of  the  town  are  the 
springs,  enclosed  within  pleasure-grounds,  sparkling 
and  bubbling  from  their  hidden  reservoirs.  Hotels 
are  in  profusion;  boarding-houses,  cottages,  almost 
any  kind  of  a  retreat,  sanctuary,  or  home  that  a 
traveler  may  desire. 

The  environment  of  Manitou  is  remarkable  for 
its  extent  and  variety.  There  is  a  surfeit  of  walks, 
rides,  and  drives:  The  ascent  to  the  summit  of 
Pike's  Peak,  Glen  Eyrie,  Queen's  Canon,  Devil's 
Punch  Bowl,  Cheyenne  Canon,  and  Seven  Falls; 
Petrified  Trees,  Monument  Park,  with  the  Mam- 
moth Anvil,  Dutch  Wedding,  Vulcan  Work  Shop, 
and  Dunces'  Parliament;  Ruxton's  Glen,  Iron 
Springs,  Ute  Pass — ^all  these  and  more.  And  yet 
there  remains  the  one  spot,  the  Erectheum  of  the 
place. 

THE  GARDEN  OF  THE  GODS 

Perhaps  no  American  writer  of  recent  times  has 
pictured  Colorado  scenery  so  lovingly,  so  truthfully, 
and  with  such  finished  skill  as  has  Ernest  Ingersoll. 
He  owns  frankly  that  an  accurate  description  of 
this  "ruinous  perfection  "  is  almost  hopeless.  In 
the  "Crest  of  the  Continent,"  he  says:  "There  is  the 
Garden  of  the  Gods,  hidden  behind  those  garish 
walls  of  red  and  yellow  sandstone,  so  stark  and  out 
of  place  in  the  soberly-toned  landscape  that  they 

45 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

travesty  Nature,  converting  the  whole  picture  into 
a  theatrical  scene  and  a  highly  spectacular  one  at 
that. 

"Passing  behind  the  sensation  walls,  one  is  not 
surprised  to  find  a  sort  of  gigantic  peep-show  in 
pantomime.  The  solid  rock  has  gone  rriasquerading 
in  every  sort  of  absurd  costume  and  character. 
The  colors  of  the  make-up,  too,  are  varied  from 
black  through  all  the  browns  and  drabs  to  pure 
white  and  then  again  through  yellows  and  buffs  and 
pinks,  up  to  staring  red.  Who  can  portray,  ade- 
quately, these  odd  forms  of  chiseled  stone?  1 
have  read  a  dozen  descriptions,  and  so  have  you, 
no  doubt.  But  one  1  have  just  seen  in  a  letter  by 
a  Boston  lady  is  so  pertinent,  that  you  shall  have 
the  pleasure  of  reading  it : 

"  'The  impression  is  of  something  mighty,  unreal, 
and  supernatural.  Of  the  Gods,  surely,  but  the 
Gods  of  the  Norse  Walhalla  in  some  of  their  strange 
outbursts  of  wild  rage  or  uncouth  playfulness.  The 
beauty-loving  divinities  of  Greece  and  Rome  could 
have  nothing  in  common  with  such  sublime  awk- 
wardness. Jove's  ambrosial  curls  must  shake  in 
another  Olympia  than  this.' 

"Weird  and  grotesque,  but  solemn  and  awful  at 
the  same  time,  as  if  one  stood  on  the  confines  of 
another  world,  and  soon  the  veil  would  be  rent 
which  divided  them.  Words  are  worse  than  useless 
to  attempt  such  a  picture.  Perhaps,  if  one  could 
live  in  the  shadow  of  its  savage  grandeur  for 
months    until    his   soul    was    permeated,    language 

46 


NEAR  TO  NATURE'S  HEART 

would  begin  to  find  itself  flowing  in  proper 
channels;  but,  in  the  first  stupor  of  astonishment, 
one  must  only  hold  his  breath. 

"The  Garden  itself,  the  holy  of  holies,  as  most 
fancy,  is  not  so  overpowering  to  me  as  the  vast 
outlying  wilderness. 

"To  pass  in  between  massive  portals  of  rock,  of 
brilliant  terra-cotta  red,  and  enter  on  a  plain,  miles 
in  extent,  covered  in  all  directions  with  magnificent 
isolated  masses  of  the  same  striking  color,  each 
lifting  itself  against  the  wonderful  blue  of  a  Colorado 
sky  with  a  sharpness  of  outline  that  would  shame 
the  fine  cutting  of  an  etching;  to  find  the  ground 
under  your  feet,  over  the  whole  immense  surface, 
carpeted  with  the  same  rich  tint,  underlying  ara- 
besques of  green  and  gray  where  grass  and  mosses 
have  crept;  to  come  upon  masses  of  pale,  velvety 
gypsum,  set  now  and  again  as  if  to  make  more 
effective  by  contrast  the  deep  red  which  strikes  the 
dominant  chord  of  the  picture;  and  always,  as  you 
look  through  above  to  catch  the  stormy  billows  of 
the  giant  mountain  range,  tossed  against  the  sky, 
with  the  regal,  snow-crow^ned  massiveness  of  Pike's 
Peak  rising  over  all,  is  something,  once  seen,  never 
to  be   forgotten. 

"Strange,  grotesque  shapes,  mammoth  caricatures 
of  animals,  clamber,  crouch,  or  spring  from  vantage 
points  hundreds  of  feet  in  the  air.  Here  a  battle- 
mented  wall  is  pierced  by  a  round  window;  there 
a  cluster  of  slender  spires  lift  themselves;  beyond, 
a  leaning  tower  slants  through  the  blue  air,  or  a  cube 

47 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

as  large  as  a  dwelling-house  is  balanced  on  a  pivot- 
like point  at  the  base,  as  if  a  child's  strength  could 
upset  it.  Imagine  all  this  scintillant  with  color,  set 
under  a  dazzling  sapphire  dome,  with  the  silver 
stems  and  delicate  frondage  of  young  cotton-woods 
in  one  space,  or  a  strong  young  hemlock  lifting 
green  symmetrical  arms  from  some  high  rocky  cliff 
in  another.  This  can  be  told;  but  the  massive 
sky-piled  masonry,  the  almost  infernal  mixture  of 
grandness  and  grotesqueness,  are  beyond  expression. 
After  the  first  few  moments  of  wild  exclamation 
one  sinks  into  aw^ed  silence.  " 

PLATTE  CANON 

Twenty  miles  from  Denver  is  Platte  Canon,  and 
through  this  sinuous  rift  in  the  mountains  rushes  the 
Platte  River,  dancing  out  of  its  shadowy  channel 
into  the  full  light  of  the  valley.  The  South  Park 
line,  which  is  the  short  line  to  Leadville  and  the 
Gunnison  country,  enters  the  caiion  where  the  river 
leaves  it.  The  general  aspect  is  much  like  that  of 
Clear  Creek  Canon,  of  which  it  is  a  friendly  rival. 
It  is  the  same,  in  being  a  rocky  chasm,  its  bed  a 
rushing  stream,  but  different  in  its  wild  contour. 

To  reach  Platte  Canon,  the  trains  pass  through 
the  western  suburbs  of  Denver  skirting  the  wooded 
banks  of  the  Platte,  and,  twenty  miles  out,  enter 
the  somber  canon  between  lofty  and  forbidding 
walls  which  continue  for  fifty  miles,  receding  at 
times  to  make  room   for  picturesque  little   hamlets 

48 


NEAR  TO  NATURE'S  HEART 

like  Buffalo,  Pine  Grove,  Slaghts,  Grant,  KenosKa, 
and  Como.  At  all  of  these  places  tourists  can  be 
accommodated,  and  trout  and  game  abound. 

At  times  the  train  seems  about  to  dash  against  the 
face  of  the  cliff,  but,  following  the  heavy  steel 
rails,  it  turns  suddenly  and  passes  by  in  safety. 
The  way  through  the  caiion  is  a  series  of  graceful 
curves,  close  to  the  overhanging  rocks,  often  crossing 
the  turbulent  Platte  River.  In  places,  the  tops  of 
the  canon  almost  seem  to  touch  each  other  and 
exclude  the  sun.  The  canon  is  a  geological  study; 
the  different  formations  and  the  terrific  forces  which 
have  combined  them  w^ill  tell  their  ow^n  stories. 

Dome  Rock  is  like  the  top  of  a  buried  mosque 
and  is  as  regular  in  shape  as  if  fashioned  by  the 
hand  of  man,  except  that  one  side  is  partly  broken 
away.  Cathedral  Spires  are  in  sight  for  miles, 
despite  the  winding  of  the  canon,  and  keep 
re-appearing  long  after  they  are  passed. 

This  canon  affords  fine  opportunities  for  camp- 
ing out.  There  is  shade  in  plenty,  trout,  game,  and 
bathing,  and  good  board  to  be  had  at  neighboring 
houses.  But  the  best  way  is  to  live  in  a  tent  and 
hire  a  servant  to  do  the  cooking.  This  is  espe- 
cially recommended  to  the  invalid  tourists.  There 
are  fifty  miles  of  this  varying  panorama,  and,  after 
the  train  climbs  Kenosha  Hill,  South  Park  is  seen 
stretching  away,  one  vast  and  level  picture,  as 
different  from  the  canon  as  night  is  from  the  day. 
At  Como  the  railway  diverges,  one  line  leading  to 
Gunnison  and  the  other  to  Leadville. 

49 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 


THE  MOFFAT  ROAD 

The  Denver,  Northwestern  &  Pacific  Railway, 
named  by  the  public  the  Moffat  Road,  in  honor  of 
its  builder,  David  H.  Moffat,  is  being  constructed 
from  Denver  to  Salt  Lake  City  in  an  air  line. 
The  first  fifty  miles  extending  from  Denver  to  Tol- 
land (Boulder  Park),  was  completed  and  opened 
for  traffic  July  I,  1904. 

Leaving  Denver  at  an  elevation  of  5,182  feet, 
the  first  tw^enty  miles  through  valleys  and  foothills 
discloses  the  richness  of  the  soil;  then,  for  thirty 
miles,  the  road  passes  through  and  along  the  brow  of 
sublime  mountains  until  beautiful  Boulder  Park 
is  reached  at  an  elevation  of  8,889  feet.  The  con- 
tinual change  of  scenery  is  one  of  the  greatest 
delights  of  this  wonderful  trip.  Instead  of  follow- 
ing the  water  courses,  as  was  formerly  the  universal 
custom  in  constructing  mountain  railroads,  the 
track  runs  near  the  lofty  crest  of  the  mountain 
range.  One  moment  an  enchanting  view^  of  the 
plains  and  valleys  holds  the  traveler  spellbound; 
then  he  is  locked  in  the  fastnesses  of  the  mountains 
surrounded  by  their  rugged  peaks.  Then  he  passes 
through  canons  beside  rushing  mountain  streams, 
until,  at  last,  a  beautiful  wooded  park  is  reached  at 
the  foot  of  the  snow-capped  Continental  Divide. 

Wonderful  as  is  the  trip  from  Denver  to  Tolland, 
it  is  excelled  by  the  beauties  to  be  enjoyed  beyond 
that  point.  Leaving  Tolland,  the  track  rises  in 
intricate    windings,    by  a   uniform   grade    until    the 

SO 


NEAR  TO  NATURE'S  HEART 

backbone  of  the  American  continent  is  reached  at 
Corona,  a  height  of  11,660  feet.  Then,  by  a  grad- 
ual descent  down  the  Pacific  slope  of  the  Conti- 
nental Divide  for  eleven  miles.  Arrow  is  reached, 
at  an  elevation  of  9,585  feet.  The  completion 
of  the  road  to  Yarmony,  Colorado,  its  present 
western  terminus,  147  miles  from  Denver,  opens 
a  new  empire  to  the  sportsman  and  pleasure-seeker. 
The  Eraser  and  the  Grand  Rivers  in  Middle 
Park,  and  the  scores  of  beautiful  streams  in  Routt 
County,  have  long  been  famed  for  their  trout 
fishing;  and  during  recent  years,  in  addition  to  the 
numerous  matured  fish  in  their  waters,  2,000,000 
young  trout  have  been  planted  in  these  streams 
and  their  tributaries.  This  insures  unsurpassed 
fishing,  and  the  railroad  company  will  have  the 
streams  re-stocked  annually  and  prevent  fish  being 
caught  in  an  illegal  manner.  The  Eraser  River  is 
within  three  miles  of  Arrow,  and  from  this  point 
west  are  numerous  streams,  all  of  which  are  well 
supplied  with  trout.  A  regular  stage  service  is 
provided  and  ample  hotel  accommodations,  or 
weekly  board  at  country  homes,  can  be  had  at 
reasonable  rates. 

CRIPPLE  CREEK  SHORT  LINE 

As  a  matter  of  curiosity  it  is  worth  while  to  visit 
a  "gold  camp"  which  produces  50,000  tons  of  ore 
per  month,  where  5,000  miners  are  employed;  a 
camp  which,  today,  produces  one-fourth  of  the  gold 

51 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

product  of  the  United  states  and  one-seventh  of  the 
total  production  of  the  world.  This  is  the  famous 
Cripple  Creek  district,  a  place  where,  for  ten  years 
past,  the  gold  taken  from  the  earth  has  averaged 
$22,000,000  a  year.  You  take  the  train  from 
Colorado  Springs  to  Cripple  Creek — a  distance  of 
61  miles — over  a  road  w^hich  cost  the  mine-owners 
of  the  camp  $85,000  per  mile  to  build. 

A  distinctive  and  unusual  feature  of  this  trip  is 
the  construction  of  the  road  around  the  rims  and 
over  the  tops  of  canons  and  mountains,  instead  of 
following  the  stream  levels  at  the  bottom;  thus 
affording  a  magnificent  view  of  the  indescribable 
beauties  of  North  and  South  Cheyenne  Canons. 
The  scenery  on  this  elevated  line  is  equal  to  any  in 
Colorado. 

Through  the  Cripple  Creek  district,  eighteen 
miles  of  electric  lines  are  maintained,  which  pass  all 
the  large  producing  mines  in  the  camp,  and  a  visit  to 
Cripple  Creek  is  not  complete  unless  you  take  the 
''Circle  Trip."  It  is  not  only  one  of  pleasure,  but 
an  educational  one  as  well.  You  will  leave  the 
camp  impressed  with  the  wonderful  sights  that 
you  have  witnessed,  and  also  with  a  good  idea  of 
how  that  which  we  are  all  seeking  is  produced. 

ESTES  PARK 

Estes  Park  is  a  wonderland,  a  little  enchanted 
wilderness,  fair  as  Calypso's  Isle,  yet  as  weird 
and    fantastic   in  some  of  its   features  as  Sir  John 

52 


NEAR  TO  NATURE'S  HEART 

Mandeville's  "Valley  Perilous."  The  Park  is  inter- 
esting, not  only  to  the  ordinary  tourist,  but  to 
every  variety  of  traveler.  The  geologist  finds  fossil 
remains  and  evidences  of  his  most  favorite  theories 
of  rock  and  mountain  formation;  the  botanist  finds, 
even  in  earliest  springtime,  the  lavender-tinted 
mountain  crocus,  following  the  first  departure  of 
snow,  and,  closely  in  its  wake,  the  mountain  daisy, 
with  its  petals  of  white  and  gold;  the  photographer 
can  point  to  the  rarest  and  most  beautiful  of 
mountain  landscapes;  the  farmer  can  find  potatoes, 
oats,  and  various  grains  growing  in  valleys  and  on 
foothills,  and  within  mountain  fastnesses. 

It  was  in  Estes  Park,  near  the  summer  residence 
of  one  of  its  greatest  admirers,  the  Earl  of  Dun- 
raven,  that  Bierstadt  produced  some  of  his  grandest 
works;  and  it  was  near  the  same  locality  that  the 
great  painter  instructed  his  patron  as  to  the  site  of 
the  Estes  Park  Hotel. 

'MOST  ANYWHERE 

To  the  brigade  commander  who  galloped  up  to 
gallant  Phil.  Kearney,  during  one  of  the  hottest 
fights  of  the  war,  and  inquired  at  what  point  he 
should  begin,  the  General  said,  assuringly,  "Oh, 
pitch  in  'most  anyw^here;  you  w^ill  find  lovely  fight- 
ing all  along  the  line.  "  And  so,  by  way  of  com- 
parison, you  can  go  in  for  enjoyment  almost 
anywhere  in  Colorado,  for  that  region  is  embarras- 
singly rich  in  alluring  places  for  rest,  recreation,  and 
outdoor  sports. 

S3 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

There  is  Palmer  Lake,  one  hour  from  Denver, 
on  the  summit  of  the  Continental  Divide,  good 
hotels,  long-distance  telephone,  quiet,  salubrious, 
and  mosquitoes  unheard  of. 

Qlenwood  Springs,  the  splendid,  one  of  the  sights 
of  Colorado,  magnificent  hotel,  grand  bathing — 
a  place  not  to  be  overlooked.  One  could  spend  a 
month  at  either  Shawnee  Lodge  or  Kiowa  Lodge  in 
Platte  Canon,  models  of  excellence  in  luxurious 
appointment  and  surpassingly  fine  cuisine,  and  situa- 
ted in  one  of  Nature's  most  romantic  strongholds. 
Then  there  is  the  Royal  Gorge — world  famous — a 
most  majestic  defile  which  one  can  not  afford  to  miss. 
Take  a  trip  to  Leadville,  that  grand  old  camp  that 
drew  its  thousands  in  other  years  and  is  still  worth 
visiting. 

Go  south  to  Pueblo,  the  young  Pittsburg  of  the 
West,  where  the  great  steel  works  will  impress  one 
with  the  idea  that  there  is  some  manufacturing 
being  done  a  long  way  this  side  of  the  Alleghenies. 
These  and  more — go  w^here  you  w^ill  all  over  the 
State — some  to  amuse,  instruct,  or  restore.  The 
agricultural  side  of  Colorado  is  rarely  studied  by 
visitors  because  the  attractions  of  romantic  or 
restful  places  are  strongest,  and,  to  the  many,  the 
State  is  forever  to  be  classed  as  a  gold-producer; 
but  the  truth  is  (and  substantiated  by  official  figures) 
that  her  agricultural  value  in  farm  products  for  1909 
was  nearly  $150,000,000,  and  the  value  of  her  gold 
output  was  $27,000,000. 

54 


NEAR  TO  NATURE'S  HEART 


IN  THE  OPEN 


Whether  "  heaven  lies  around  us  in  our  infancy  " 
can  be  accepted  without  dispute,  is  a  question;  but 
certain  it  is  that  any  man,  woman,  or  child  can  come 
as  near  to  finding  in  Colorado  an  Earthly  Paradise 
wherein  to  enjoy  a  summer's  outing  as  anywhere  on 
this  continent,  at  least.  For  Nature  has  been  prodi- 
gal here;  go  where  you  will,  there  is  an  inviting 
charm  to  allure  you.  The  halt  and  the  maimed,  the 
consumptive,  the  tired  man,  the  healthy  pleasure- 
seeker  or  the  satiated  roamer  who  has  "been  abroad,  " 
can  find  here  his  particular  Arcady  and  enter  into 
possession.  There  is  no  question  regarding  the 
beneficence  of  clear  sunshine  and  pure  mountain 
air,  for  the  tonic  balsam  of  the  pines  and  the  vital 
clarity  of  those  upper  heights  have  long  ago  dis- 
counted the  medicine  chest  and  the  polite  prison 
life  of  the  sanatoriums. 


55 


CLIMATE  AND  CLAIMANTS 

And  Some  Scriptural  Advice 

"The  Empire  of  Climate,"  says  our  observant  old 
friend,  Montesquieu,  "is  the  most  powerful  of  all 
empires.  "  While  this  may  be  unanswerably  true  the 
first  serious  difficulty  presented  in  these  modern 
times  is  to  locate  the  empire. 

Very  possibly  the  always-old-ever-new  question 
of  climate  is  one  of  the  most  contentious  and  vexing 
themes  extant.  There  are  those  who  can  see  no 
possible  good,  let  alone  attraction,  in  a  certain  local- 
ity which,  on  the  other  hand,  is  claimed  by  its  friends 
and  supporters  to  be  a  veritable  Earthly  Paradise. 

The  real  truth  is,  humanity  has  been  searching 
many  long  centuries  for  the  Garden  which  was  lost 
— it  is  a  never-dying  aspiration.  The  restless  Ameri- 
can demands  change  of  the  most  pronounced  type 
when  he  selects  a  playground  in  his  own  country; 
but  he  will  go  across  sea  year  after  year  and  stand 
the  monotony  of  European  show  places,  pay  heavily 
for  the  illusion,  and  be  content.  In  climate  and 
scenery  he  has  infinitely  finer  attractions  at  home. 

On  no  one  point,  perhaps,  do  the  disputants  vary 
so  much  as  on  the  choice  of  a  winter  resort,  where 
earth  and  air,  and  sea  and  sky  combine  in  harmoni- 
ous perfection.  But,  after  all,  the  individual  is  the 
proper  arbiter.  A  question  of  climate  can  not  be 
decided  off   hand   for  one  man,  any  more  than  the 

57 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 


insistence  that  a  certain  brand  of  cigars  is  the  only 
smoke  for  him.  One  citizen  may  be  a  slave  to  the 
glamour  of  Los  Angeles,  where  it  is  summer  all  win- 
ter; but  his  friend,  equally  fanatical,  stakes  his  faith 
on  Santa  Barbara,  or  Coronado,  as  the  only  real  rest- 
ful and  altogether  charming  winter  resort  on  the 
Pacific  Coast;  while  a  third  maintains  with  firm 
obstinacy  that  Colorado  is  the  only  genuine  winter 
Elysium  in  the  Union.  And  Palm  Beach  and  the 
Bermudas,  and  Tampa  and  Cuba  each  has  its 
devotees. 

And  so  the  divergencies  of  opinion  run  riot.  Yet 
the  thoughtful,  traveled,  unbiased  citizen,  knows  full 
well  that  for  pure,  vigorous,  vital  air  tempered  with 
the  velvety  softness  of  a  semi-tropical  atmosphere, 
any  one  of  these  delightful  American  havens  has 
no  superiors  and  scarcely  any  equals  in  Europe. 

The  Riviera  itself  can  not  claim  superiority  in 
any  respect — either  of  climate,  flora  and  fauna,  fruits, 
or  scenery — over  the  300  miles  of  southern  Califor- 
nia coast.  Where  in  any  old-world  waters  is  there 
such  fishing  for  the  big-game  fighters  of  the  sea  as  at 
Avalon,  Santa  Catalina,  or  any  of  the  charmed 
regions  where  the  mid-winter  air  is  as  soft  as  the 
breath  of  the  Mediterranean  and  has  none  of  the 
drawbacks  of  that  district  ?  And  the  calm  majesty 
of  the  Pacific,  swelling  shoreward  peacefully,  among 
those  summer  islands  which  line  the  coast,  does  not 
recognize  a  rival  in  the  world.  Take  an  instance  of 
sharp  contrast.  The  Bay  of  Naples,  world  famed  as 
it  is,  justly  lauded   for   its   beauty,    affords   no    such 

58 


CLIMATE  AND  CLAIMANTS 

bathing  as  the  beach  at  Monterey^ — and  there  is  no 
Hotel  Del  Monte  in  the  Italian  City. 

The  builders  of  Del  Monte  had  the  attractions  of 
all  California  to  choose  from,  and  they  placed  their 
faith  here  by  the  shores  of  Monterey  Bay,  125  miles 
south  of  San  Francisco,  where  400  years  ago  civili- 
zation first  sought  a  landing  place  on  our  western 
coast.  A  climate  of  perennial  summer  time  ;  spring, 
river  and  forest,  ocean  and  bay,  lake  and  mountain, 
w^ild  cliffs  and  smooth  beaches,  a  w^ealth  of  strange 
sea  things,  near  visions  of  the  life  of  the  wilderness, 
and  withal  charming  historic  association,  and  the 
tales  of  tradition;  these  they  found  and  encompassed 
into  one  principality,  directed  Nature,  encouraged 
her,  added  where  addition  meant  charm,  lost  none  of 
the  grace  of  wildness,  but  gained  the  beauty  of 
accessibility.  Then  they  built  a  palace  where  those 
who  live  out-of-doors  might  have  a  shelter  within 
walls,  equally  pleasing,  equally  enchanting.  To 
wield  a  wand,  to  create  such  an  abiding  place  was 
most  difficult,  but  Hotel  Del  Monte,  with  its  magnifi- 
cent appointments,  its  great  verandas,  parlors,  halls, 
recreation  rooms,  its  magnificent  suites,  its  own  light- 
ing, heating  and  water  plants,  its  artistic  harmony  in 
colors,  and  management  everywhere,  meets  the  need 
of  all  and  may  be  stamped  with  the  general  epithet 
"perfection." 

The  environment  of  this  great  palace  of  300 
rooms  is  on  a  generous  scale;  there  are  126 
acres  of  marvelous  landscape  gardening,  and  these 
grounds  contain  1,366  different  varieties  of  plant  life. 

59 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

This  list  includes  seventy-eight  varieties  of  conifer- 
ous trees,  210  varieties  of  evergreen  trees  and 
shrubs,  114  varieties  of  deciduous  trees  and  shrubs, 
sixty-three  varieties  of  cacti  in  the  Arizona  garden, 
285  varieties  of  herbaceous  plants,  ninety  varieties 
of  roses. 

Thirty  years  and  more  ago  Santa  Barbara  was 
famous  as  a  lovely  resort  place.  Naturally  beautiful, 
lying  between  the  broad  beach  at  the  water's  edge 
and  the  Santa  Ynez  Mountains,  it  has  been  helped 
by  all  that  wealth  and  art  and  leisure  could  offer. 
On  slopes  and  terraces  its  artistic  homes  have  a 
background  of  ever-blooming  flowers,  of  shrubs  and 
trees  such  as  grow  best  in  a  semi-tropic  clime.  The 
one  business  street.  State  Street,  starts  at  the  water's 
edge  at  the  end  of  the  steamship  wharf  and  extends 
back  through  the  town  up  the  slope.  On  either  side 
are  ranged  business  blocks  that  give  a  stranger  the 
impression  of  a  city  of  twenty  thousand  people. 
The  charms  of  Santa  Barbara,  consist  in  its  great 
ocean  boulevard,  fine  mountain  drives,  beautiful 
plaza  ard  bath-house  and  fine  resort  hotels,  its  per- 
fect climate  the  year  round,  its  mountain  and  valley 
tours,  fishing  and  boating  and  bathing,  horseback 
riding,  polo  playing,  golfing,  yachting — all  these  are 
part  and  parcel  of  this  charming  place. 

Now,  these  two  places  stand  for  types  of  the 
winter-resort  towns  in  Southern  California,  and  for 
300  miles  their  prototypes  line  the  coast,  all  having 
a  special  allurement  of  distinct  character.  It  may 
be  safely  stated  that  no  stretch  of  the  same  distance 

6o 


CLIMATE    AND   CLAIMANTS 

can    be    found    in    any    foreign     country    possessing 
such  varied  charm. 

In  this  connection  it  is  well  to  remember  that 
the  famous  Los  Angeles  Limited,  running  via  the 
Chicago  &  North  Western  Railway,  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad,  and  the  San  Pedro  Los  Angeles  6c  Salt 
Lake  Railroad,  carries  its  patrons  to  these  winter 
resorts  every  day,  speedily,  in  safety,  and  in  comfort, 
the  equipment  and  service  of  this  train  being  abso- 
lutely the  best  that  money   can  furnish. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  an  almost  endless 
list  of  Nature  Sanatoriums  from  which  to  choose  — 
anywhere  in  the  Western  Empire  along  the  Harri- 
man  Lines.  If  one  insists  on  summer  balms  during 
wintry  blasts,  he  can  find  plenty  of  Avalons  all  the 
way  from  Seattle  to  San  Diego;  to  escape  summer's 
heat,  the  resorts  offered  present  a  veritable  embar- 
rassment of  riches.  Wyoming  is  not  surpassed  by 
Colorado  in  sunshine  and  pure  air,  and  there  are, 
perhaps,  greater  opportunities  in  the  former  for  closer 
communion  with  Nature.  At  Laramie,  or  Rawlins, 
or  Evanston,  a  camping-out  excursion  for  the  whole 
summer  can  be  arranged  —  a  rest  cure  worth  an 
infinitude  of  pills  and  potions  ;  the  same  at  Ogden 
Canon,  one  of  the  loveliest  spots  in  the  entire  West; 
there  are  innumerable  cozy  retreats  all  along  the 
Oregon  Short  Line  in  Idaho,  and  Yellowstone 
National  Park,  the  crowning  wonder  of  this  conti- 
nent, is  at  its  best  during  the  hot  months  ;  and  still 
farther  on,  the  Cascade  Range  in  Oregon  and  Wash- 
ington,   and    far    to    the     South    the    Sierras,    where 

6i 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

Matchless  Tahoe  sparkles  7,000  feet  above  sea 
level.  There  is  variety  enough,  and  above  all  and 
beyond  all  the  pure  balsamic-laden  air  which  we 
can  not  find  elsewhere.  Dry  air,  sunshine,  the  heal- 
ing odor  of  the  pines,  and  an  elevation  where 
miasma  is  impossible — ^  these  three  beneficent  agents 
are  the  strongest  factors  to  be  found  in  combating 
diseases  which  afflict  those  who  live  at  lower  levels 
and  in  a  heavier  atmosphere. 

SCRIPTURAL  ADVICE 

To  "  flee  unto  the  mountains,"  according  to 
Scripture  warrant,  meant  sound,  sanitary,  and  health- 
giving  results  as  well  as  resorting  to  some  secluded 
place  for  meditation  and  prayer,  and  the  balm  of 
pine  and  balsam  worked  together  for  good,  whether 
the  trouble  was  of  mind  or  body.  '  From  the  moun- 
tains Cometh  our  strength,"  has  a  far  deeper  signifi- 
cance than  any  spiritual  or  symbolical  allusion.  The 
Hebrew  code  of  hygiene,  of  sanitation,  of  diet,  was 
admirably  adapted  to  the  condition  and  environment 
of  that  nation.  The  law-givers  said  "  flee  to  the 
mountains  for  health,  for  rest,  for  a  renewal  of  vital 
strength,  for  a  cure  from  the  ills  from  which  you 
suffer.  Leave  these  low  lands  for  a  time  -escape 
from  possible  miasma,  and  get  your  lungs  full  of  pure 
mountain  air.  Avoid  a  diet  which  will  surely,  in 
this  hot  climate,  breed  disorders  in  your  system  go 
up  into  the  mountains."  All  of  which  was  surely 
sound   advice — medical   suggestion   upon   which   we 


CLIMATE    AND   CLAIMANTS 


have  not  much  improved  up  to  the  present  time. 
The  elder  race  was  wise  in  its  day  and  generation. 
The  "white  plague"  now  holds  first  place  as  the 
great  destroyer  of  human  life  in  the  United  States, 
and  the  number  of  deaths  every  year  has  reached  an 
appalling  figure.  There  has  not,  as  yet,  been  found  a 
nostrum,  devised  by  man,  which  can  successfully 
combat  this  dread  disease.  For  years  the  afflicted 
have  flocked  either  to  the  summer  lands  of  the 
South,  which  afforded  but  temporary  relief,  or  to 
the  mountain  heights  of  the  West,  where  they  often 
die  in  a  little  while.  To  "flee  to  the  mountains" 
suddenly  is  certainly  disastrous.  A  patient  far  gone 
in  consumption  w^ill  not  last  long  in  the  highly  rarified 
atmosphere — the  call  on  the  circulatory  system  is  too 
strenuous,  and  certain  collapse  must  follow.  Safety 
lies  in  a  gradual  approach — ^by  easy  stages — taking  it 
slowly  and  making  higher  elevation  week  by  week, 
or  as  strength  will  permit.  Take  for  instance,  a  trip 
from  Omaha,  with  that  place  as  the  initial  point  on 
the  Union  Pacific  system.  The  elevation  here  is  a 
trifle  over  1,000  feet  above  sea  level;  300  miles 
west,  at  North  Platte,  you  are  at  a  3,000  feet  alti- 
tude. Rest  there  awhile  and  go  on  into  Denver, 
which  is  just  about  a  mile  in  the  air  above  the  ocean 
level  (5,182  feet).  Now  for  a  patient  who  is  striving 
to  simply  hold  his  own  to  attempt  the  mountain 
passes  and  high  altitudes,  within  easy  reach  of 
Denver,  would  be  suicidal.  The  doctrine  of  "slow 
and  easy"  is  the  safest,  and  will  bring  the  most  satis- 
factory recompense. 

63 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

Forty-five  years  ago,  the  old  timer  in  Montana 
believed  in  only  one  cure  for  tuberculosis,  and  it 
was  a  brief  prescription,  "whisky  and  bronco." 
It  may  have  been  based  on  the  doctrine  of  "kill  or 
cure,"  but  I  have  seen  some  wonderful  results  from 
this  formula.  Virginia  City  was  over  7,000  feet  alti- 
tude, and  the  air  was  as  pure  and  vital  as  a  man  ever 
breathed;  the  proof  standard  of  the  whisky  or  the 
moral  rectitude  of  the  broncos  can  not  be  vouched 
for;  but  many  a  man  who  came  to  Alder  Gulch 
pale,  dejected,  thin,  and  hollow-chested,  developed 
into  a  robust  man.  The  tonic  air  healed  his  lungs, 
the  fiery  spirits  stimulated  every  fibre  of  his  being, 
and  the  unruly  mustang  gave  all  necessary  exercise. 
It  is  not  intended  to  offer  this  prescription  as  a  sover- 
eign remedy — simply  a  report  which  fell  under  my 
observation. 

"  But,"  protests  the  average  citizen,  "  I  am  not  a 
consumptive,  nor  have  I  need  of  your  odious  cure, 
which  1  am  sure  would  kill  people  rather  than  help 
them.  What  I  want  is  a  place  to  go  in  the  winter  or 
summer  just  for  rest  and  enjoyment."  And  the 
answer  again  is,  "  flee  to  the  mountains.*  If  you 
can  find  a  more  delightful  place  in  this  country  at 
any  season  of  the  year  than  Colorado  Springs — 
go  there.  Here  is  an  ideal  town — high  enough 
to  make  your  blood  tingle — a  city  where  great 
wealth  has  retired  and  built  costly  homes — a  beau- 
tiful place  embowered  with  trees  and  mantled  with 
flowers  in  all  its  borders.  There  is  not  even  a 
factory  here  to  break,   with    discordant    shrieks,   on 

64 


CLIMATE  AND  CLAIMANTS 

the  tranquil  beauty  of  the  place.  Near  at  hand  is 
the  far-famed  Garden  of  the  Gods,  one  of  the  most 
wonderful  spots  in  the  whole  range  of  the  Rockies,  a 
weird,  wild,  supernatural  place,  which  has  no  counter- 
part elsewhere.  You  can  go  by  motor  car  in  a  few 
moments,  or  scale  Pike's  Peak  (14,441  feet)  if  your 
heart  valves  are  in  good  working  order.  A  short  dis- 
tance away  is  Manitou — beloved  of  the  Gods  indeed 
— one  of  the  most  dainty,  winsome  little  gems  in  the 
world,  cradled  in  a  deep  cup  in  the  heart  of  the  moun- 
tains, with  myriad  springs  of  sparkling  water  on  every 
side.  There  is  a  charm  about  Manitou  which  seems 
to  fascinate  and  hold,  and  the  world-weary  turn  here 
again  and  again  when  satiated  with  lesser  pleasures 
and  even  more  magnificent  visions. 

Denver  itself,  reached  from  either  Kansas  City  or 
Omaha  by  Union  Pacific,  possesses  an  alluring 
charm.  It  is  one  of  the  most  metropolitan  cities  on 
this  continent,  and  its  growth  from  a  lone  miner's 
cabin  to  a  city  of  such  spacious  dimensions,  in  the 
short  space  of  fifty  years,  is  one  of  the  marvels  only 
possible  in  American  progress.  There  is  enough 
alone  in  Denver  to  engage  the  attention  for  many 
weeks,  and  the  easy  accessibility  of  every  place  of 
resort  in  Colorado  from  this  central  point  gives  it  a 
distinct  advantage  as  a  starting  place  or  a  pivotal 
point  from  which  to  radiate  in  every  direction  in 
quest  of  refuges  for  the  weary.  Sunshine  all  the 
time — at  any  rate  they  have  a  record  of  300  days  a 
year — the  native  Coloradoan  emphatically  asserts  that 
there  are  no  days  when  you  can  not  see  the  sun — and 

65 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

an  atmosphere  which  is  a  life  tonic.  Rest,  recreation, 
health,  rejuvenation — a  real  finding  of  youth  — await 
all  those  who  *'  flee  to  the  mountains "  before  it  is 
too  late. 

We  have  made  no  mention  in  detail  of  the  "heal- 
ing pools" — those  Bethesdas  which  exist  all  over  the 
West.  There  are  thousands  of  these  in  every  State 
from  Nebraska  and  Kansas  to  the  Pacific  Coast, 
possessing  curative  properties  for  well  nigh  all  the 
ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to.  Some  are  fashionable 
resorts,  some  close  to  the  sea,  some  hidden  away 
among  the  hills,  some  shrined  in  a  sequestered  valley. 
If,  on  some  tranquil  afternoon  of  perfect  California 
summer  or  winter  weather,  you  should  wander  into  the 
old  Mission  of  San  Miguel,  or  San  Luis,  or  San  Juan, 
you  will  see  rare  pieces  of  altar  covers,  vestments 
and  other  insignia  of  the  church  of  most  exquisite 
design  and  workmanship.  These  were  worked  by 
the  hands  of  the  Spanish  Queen  and  her  court  ladies 
and  sent  over,  after  the  Mission  of  San  Miguel  had 
been  established  in  1797,  in  devout  recognition  of 
the  marvelous  cures  attested  at  Paso  Robles — the 
famous  spring  near  by.  So  that  particular  Bethesda 
is  peculiarly  associated  with  early  Californian 
history,  for  it  was  the  curative  power  of  the  waters 
which  decided  the  Franciscan  fathers  to  establish 
a  mission  here.  In  addition  to  an  unusually  large 
number  of  different  virtued  waters,  such  as  lithia, 
iron,  sulphur  and  the  like — hot  and  cold — there  are 
the  wonderful  mud  baths — a  place  where  vegetable 
mud,   hot    lithia    and    mineral   water    bubbles   up   at 

66 


CLIMATE  AND   CLAIMANTS 

a  temperature  of  108  to  122  degrees  Fahrenheit. 
There  are  many  wonderful  cures  reported  in  cases 
of  rheumatism,  gout,  sciatica,  neuralgia,  etc.  It  was 
here  that  Admiral  Robley  Evans  found  health  and 
strength  after  the  long  cruise;  his  rheumatism  was 
speedily  subjugated  by  these  baths.  The  hotel  is 
built  of  marble,  tile,  and  metal — a  beautiful  building, 
equipped  with  every  know^n  device  for  "w^ater 
curing." 

The  purple  mountains  of  the  Santa  Lucia  and 
the  silver  strip  of  a  river,  the  Salinas,  hem  in  these 
springs;  the  mountains,  4,000  feet  high,  have  a 
cloak  of  oak  forest,  and  here  and  there  tall  pines 
and  lesser  trees  and  shrubs  and  many  flowers.  Paso 
Robles  is  the  half-way  house  between  Los  Angeles 
and  San  Francisco,  on  the  coast  line  of  the  South- 
ern Pacific.  Ten  passenger  trains  a  day  afford  facili- 
ties for  luxurious  travel  from  Los  Angeles  to  Santa 
Barbara,  Santa  Barbara  to  Paso  Robles  Hot  Springs, 
Paso  Robles  Hot  Springs  to  Del  Monte,  Del  Monte 
to  Santa  Cruz,  Santa  Cruz  to  San  Jose,  San  Jose  to 
San  Francisco. 


67 


WYOMING  VISTAS 

There  was  a  time — not  so  very  long  ago  either — 
when  the  meagre  word  "Wyoming"  conjured  visions 
of  a  howHng  wilderness,  bewildering  solitudes,  unim- 
agined  deeps  of  mountain  recesses — and  the  world- 
famed  bad  town — the  one  wickedest  spot  on  earth — 
Cheyenne.  It  is  curious  to  note,  as  an  instance  of 
growth  in  the  West,  that  for  fourteen  years  past  the 
citizens  of  Cheyenne  have  celebrated  "Frontier  Day," 
a  festival  illustrating,  and  commemorating  in  a  certain 
sense,  the  fashions  of  pioneer  days;  feats*  of  horse- 
manship, steer-roping  contests,  bronco  races,  and  the 
like.  So  the  modern  staid,  settled  city  of  To-day  is 
so  old  in  Western  advancement  that  it  reproduces,  as 
an  object  lesson,  the  sports,  the  games,  the  pastimes, 
and  the  working  methods  of  Yesterday — which  was 
ever  so  long  ago! 

Historic  Cheyenne,  516  miles  from  Omaha  on  the 
main  line  of  the  Union  Pacific,  is  the  capital  of 
Wyoming  and  the  seat  of  Laramie  County.  Those 
who  are  looking  for  a  cowboy  town  will  not  see 
many  evidences  of  his  free  and  easy  reign  in  this 
solidly  built,  prosperous,  and  progressive  city  of 
25,000  inhabitants.  Gas  and  electric  lights;  one 
of  the  finest  waterworks  systems  in  the  West;  three 
reservoirs  of  2,000,000  gallons  and  one  of  1,000,000 
gallons  capacity;  one  of  the  largest  shop  plants  on 
the  Union  Pacific,  capacity  1,200  men;  a  spacious 
Federal  building;  imposing  blocks  of  business  houses 

69 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

and  handsome  residences  show  that  a  city  has  taken 
the  place  once  occupied  by  a  rude  frontier  town. 

Fort  D.  A.  Russell,  a  military  post,  is  3  miles 
distant.  The  reconstruction  of  Fort  Russell  at  a  cost 
of  over  $3,000,000  makes  it  now  one  of  the  finest 
military  posts  in  the  country,  accommodating  an 
entire  brigade  of  troops. 

It  w^ould  be  impossible  to  find  a  greater  contrast 
in  the  physical  features  of  a  State  than  one  finds  in 
Wyoming,  The  great  plains  in  their  Western  sw^eep 
abut  against  the  easterly  mountain  ranges  or  pass 
about  their  terminations  as  they  reach  westward 
toward  South  Pass  or  northward  toward  Montana. 
From  the  plains  the  lower  portion  of  the  State  passes 
into  plateaus,  broad  valleys  leading  to  the  greater 
mountain  ranges  and  deserts  that  occupy  the  broad, 
arid  expanses  between  the  elevated  areas.  It  may 
seem  singular,  but  it  is  no  less  a  fact,  that  a  person 
can  pass  from  east  to  west  across  Wyoming  and  not 
cross  a  mountain  range.  The  Union  Pacific  Railroad 
crosses  only  the  Rocky  Mountains  as  it  traverses 
Wyoming.  From  the  plains  and  tablelands  the 
mountains  rise  in  their  majestic  grandeur,  with  the 
hundreds  of  watercourses,  curiously  carved  canons, 
inaccessible  nooks  and  peaks,  which  are  in  part 
clothed  with  a  dark  green  verdure  that  from  a  dis- 
tance causes  the  mountains  to  appear  black,  above 
which  tower  the  peaks  of  eternal  snow.  The  story 
of  the  sister  States  and  their  wonderful  scenery  has 
largely  been  written;  but  that  of  Wyoming  must  be 
told,  by   someone  in    the   future.      Treasures  of    the 

70 


WYOMING  VISTAS 


rarest  kind  await  the  ambitious  in  the  great  mountain 
ranges  of  the  interior.  No  State  offers  to  the  poet  or 
the  artist  greater  opportunities  than  Wyoming  does 
at  the  present  time. 

Wyoming  has  its  "Alpine"  ranges  in  the  Rocky 
Mountain  chain,  which,  with  its  collateral  off-shoots 
and  spurs,  rises  in  lofty  grandeur  throughout  the 
State.  Its  snow-capped  peaks,  its  valleys,  basins, 
and  plains  are  marked  with  many  wonderful  curiosi- 
ties, wrought  by  the  steady,  quiet  hand  of  Nature 
through  the  various  elements  at  her  command,  which 
tell  us  of  the  long  ages  of  the  past.  The  wonderful 
power  of  these  elements — atmosphere,  heat,  and 
water — in  their  various  relations,  is  here  demonstrated 
in  the  upheavals,  the  depressions,  the  deep,  rock-cut 
canons,  aw^e-inspiring  cataracts  and  beautiful  cascades, 
fantastic  rocky  monuments  carved  from  mountain 
ranges  by  the  erosive  and  glacial  action  of  ages  past. 
Mounds,  buttes,  and  dunes  rise  with  artistic  symmetry, 
as  though  thoughtful  skill  had  formed  them  rather 
than  the  action  of  the  drift.  These,  with  the  water- 
courses that  flow  from  mountain  ranges  down  through 
deep  valleys  and  canons,  falling  over  rocky  ledges 
for  hundreds  of  feet,  across  grass-covered  plains,  and 
with  numerous  lakes  embosomed  on  the  high  plateaus, 
slopes,  and  bases  of  these  ranges,  present  scenic 
views  doubtless  more  grand  and  more  wonderful 
than  any  other  region  of  country  on  the  globe. 

Of  mountain  heights  there  are  but  few  on  the 
North  and  South  American  continents  of  greater 
elevation  than   Fremont's   Peak,  of  the  Wind  River 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

Range,  13,790  feet  above  the  sea;  and  Elk  Moun- 
tain, 11,511  feet,  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque  peaks 
of  the  entire  range. 

CLIMBING  THE  ROOF 

It  is  hard  to  realize  we  are  climbing  the  steep  slope 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  as  we  travel  westward  on 
the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  after  leaving  Cheyenne 
on  such  a  stiff  grade.  But  we  have  been  coming  up 
hill  for  500  miles  and  more  from  Omaha  or  Kansas 
City;  Omaha  is  a  trifle  over  1,000  feet  above  sea 
level,  and  at  Cheyenne  we  have  ascended  nearly  a 
mile  since  leaving  the  broad  plains  of  the  fertile 
Kansas-Nebraska  country.  In  the  nineteen  miles 
from  Cheyenne  to  Granite  Canon  the  ascent  is  254 
feet;  from  Granite  Canon  to  Buford,  in  a  distance  of 
eight  miles,  we  rise  546  feet,  and  mounting  still 
higher  we  arrive,  four  miles  from  Buford,  at  Sherman, 
the  highest  point  on  the  ro^d,  having  an  altitude  of 
8,010  feet  above  sea  level.  In  the  last  four  miles  we 
ascend  152  feet. 

LARAMIE 
Population  10,000;  Elevation  7,145  feet 

Laramie,  576  miles  from  Omaha,  is  one  of  the 
most  beautifully  situated  cities  in  Wyoming  and  a 
fine  example  of  Western  thrift  and  progress.  It  is 
well  to  remember  the  evolution  in  a  few  years  of  a 
town  like  this  from  a  lonesome  station  on  the  Laramie 
Plains   to   a  metropolitan   place   which  has  a   board 

72 


WYOMING  VISTAS 


of  trade,  electric  lights,  sewer  system,  and  water 
works.  Here  are  the  Wyoming  State  University, 
Agricultural  College,  Normal  School,  School  of 
Mines,  United  States  Experiment  Station,  and  State 
Fish  Hatchery.  The  bright,  invigorating  climate  and 
pure,  clear  air,  and  spring  water  are  especially  bene- 
ficial for  throat,  pulmonary,  and  malarial  troubles; 
hard,  dry  gravel  roads  in  all  directions  and  at  all 
seasons  make  this  the  cycler's  or  motorists  paradise. 
Laramie  has  railroad  division  terminals,  rolling  mills, 
making  rails,  plates,  bars,  etc.;  machine  shops,  two 
cement  plaster  mills,  planing  mills,  stock  yards,  feed- 
ing and  dairying,  and  an  unusual  variety  of  industries 
not  often  found  in  a  city  of  this  size. 

FOSSIL  REMAINS 

The  drop  from  8,010  in  the  air  at  Sherman  Hill 
to  7,145  feet  at  Laramie — 865  feet  in  twenty-six 
miles — is  a  pretty  fair  toboggan  slide.  The  famous 
Laramie  Plains  comprise  a  tract  of  the  richest  grazing 
and  agricultural  lands  in  the  State,  and  the  district 
is  about  seventy  miles  wide  by  1 30  miles  long.  Wyo- 
ming has  long  been  known  to  scientific  men  as 
one  of  the  richest  treasure  fields  in  fossil  deposits  on 
this  continent,  and  Laramie  is  the  usual  outfitting 
point  for  exploration  parties,  of  which  there  have 
been  scores  in  the  past  forty  years,  including  the 
famous  survey  of  Hayden,  and  the  wonderful  find 
of  gigantic  fossils  by  Professor  Marsh  of  Yale 
College.      An   unusually   fine   display  of  these   huge 

73 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 


prehistoric  monsters  is  shown  in  the  University- 
Museum  at  Laramie,  and  they  are  of  absorbing 
interest  to  the  paleontologist. 

RAWLINS 
Population  4,000;  Elevation  6,741  feet 

Rawlins  is  693  miles  from  Omaha  and  is  situated 
near  the  greatest  hunting  country  of  northern 
Colorado,  and  the  Big  Horn  and  Wind  River  coun- 
tries of  Wyoming.  Stage  lines  connect  with  all 
interior  points.  The  United  States  Military  wagon 
road  to  Fort  Washakie,  near  Lander,  connects  this 
point  with  the  Yellowstone  National  Park.  Tourists 
can  take  stage,  which  leaves  daily  for  Lander,  at 
which  point  necessaries  in  the  shape  of  outfits 
of  all  kinds,  horses,  wagons,  guides,  and  supplies, 
may  be  had  in  profusion.  Rawlins  is  headquarters 
for  the  mining  interests  of  Grand  Encampment  and 
Four  Mile  districts,  also  outfitting  point  for  the  copper 
deposits  of  the  Battle  Lake  district  and  general  head- 
quarters for  the  sheep  and  cattle  interests  of  this 
section.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  wool-shipping  points 
in  the  West  and  has  electric  lights,  good  hotels,  and 
all  the  necessary  adjuncts  of  a  prospering  town. 

LIVE  STOCK  PARADISE 

This  was  a  foreordained  stock  country,  although 
in  later  years  the  industrial  side  has  made  rapid 
advances.  Prior  to  1870  comparatively  little  stock 
raising  was  done  because  it  was  thought  the  winters 

74 


WYOMING  VISTAS 


were  too  severe  for  open  grazing;  but  the  early- 
settlers  began  to  experiment,  and  it  was  found  that 
the  greater  portion  of  Wyoming  was  admirably 
adapted  to  the  live-stock  industry.  Nutritious 
grasses  that  cure  standing  on  the  ground  furnished 
good  grazing  both  in  winter  and  summer.  The  great 
grain-growing  States  of  Nebraska  and  Kansas  are 
directly  on  the  route  of  shipment  to  market,  so  that 
live  stock  bred  and  reared  on  the  ranges  can  be 
fattened  and  finished  in  the  cheapest  grain  country 
in  the  world  while  en  route  to  points  of  sale. 

Disease  was  unknown,  the  grass  grew  abundantly, 
cured  excellently,  and  carried  through  the  winter  all 
classes  of  live  stock  without  having  to  furnish  any 
considerable  amount  of  hay  or  grain.  The  Union 
Pacific  afforded  quick  transportation  eastward,  and 
the  freight  rates  were  low  compared  with  the  tariff 
charged  on  other  commodities.  As  the  business 
grew,  immense  profits  were  realized;  capital  came  in 
from  all  parts  of  the  East  and  the  Old  World,  and  the 
statement,  that  all  a  man  required  in  Wyoming  to 
become  rich  was  to  own  cattle,  was  rarely  disputed. 

Foot-rot  is  unknown;  for  the  dryness  of  the  soil 
acts  as  a  preventive,  and  also  speedily  cures  without 
the  application  of  remedies  when  Eastern  sheep  are 
brought  here  affected  with  it. 

Sheep  graze  the  year  round;  but,  when  an  occa- 
sional snowfall  is  deep  enough  to  prevent  their 
reaching  the  ground,  it  is  necessary  to  feed  hay.  On 
an  average,  during  the  past  ten  years,  not  more  than 
fifteen  days  of    each  year  has  it  been   necessary  to 

75 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

feed  hay  or  grain  to  strong,  healthy  sheep.  The 
weaker  animals  require  more  nourishment;  but  in 
many  instances  they  have  done  well  w^ithout  hay  or 
other  feed  than  that  found  on  the  open  range,  for 
several  years  in  succession. 

Nearly  all  the  grazing  lands  in  Wyoming  are 
adapted  to  sheep  grow^ing.  The  sheep  now  raised 
are  of  good  grade,  and  will  yield  an  average  per 
head  throughout  the  flocks  of  six  to  eight  pounds 
of  w^ool. 

ROCK  SPRINGS 
Population  6,000;  Elevation  6,256  feet 

Rock  Springs  is  812  miles  from  Omaha.  The 
fame  of  its  coal  mines  has  spread  all  over  the  trans- 
Missouri  region,  and  unquestionably  Sweetwater 
County  is  the  greatest  coal-producing  district  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  coal  mines  here  give 
employment  to  4,000  men.  The  town  is  equipped 
with  waterworks  which  cost  $300,000,  uses  electric 
lights,  has  banks,  newspapers,  fine  schools  and  num- 
erous churches  and  hotels.  The  Wyoming  State 
Hospital  is  here. 

GREEN  RIVER 
Population  2,500;  Elevation  6,077  feet 

Green  River,  827  miles  from  Omaha,  is  in  the 
same  county  as  Rock  Springs  and  is  general  head- 
quarters for  the  vast  sheep  and  cattle  interests  of  this 
section.      It  is  the    county  seat.     The   town   has   the 

76 


WYOMING  VISTAS 


usual  equipment  of  electric  light  service,  water 
system,  schools,  churches,  and  a  fine  Carnegie  library. 
The  curious  formations  on  the  cliffs  back  of  the  town 
are  a  wonderful  sight.  Trains  are  made  up  here  for 
the  Oregon  Short  Line  through  service  to  Portland, 
Tacoma,  and  Seattle,  and  these  trains  leave  the 
Union  Pacific  at  Granger,  30  miles  west.  The  through 
trains  to  Salt  Lake,  Los  Angeles,  and  San  Francisco 
keep  the  Union  Pacific  main  line,  and  after  leaving 
Granger  pass  through  some  of  the  finest  scenery  in 
the  Rockies. 

IMMORTAL  SOIL 

Any  man  looking  across  a  tract  of  apparently 
barren  waste  naturally  concludes  that  the  outlook  is 
decidedly  unpromising,  and,  if  he  be  a  farmer,  that 
such  land  is  well-nigh  worthless.  Well,  let  us 
investigate  for  a  moment,  as  we  slip  along  through 
some  such  section.  Sagebrush  and  a  few  rocks 
cropping  out,  and  not  very  good-looking  soil?  True. 
Italy  has  been  cultivating  soil  for  a  matter  of  two  or 
three  thousand  years  and  the  soil  is  good  yet,  is  it 
not?  Lands  in  France  which  have  been  in  use  for 
centuries  are  still  productive,  are  they  not?  What 
makes  the  soil  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  so  fertile? 
Why  has  soil  in  many  Eastern  States  lost  its  vitality 
when  the  earth  in  countries  centuries  older  con- 
tinues to  yield  bountifully?  The  answer  is  lava 
A  soil  which  will  last  is  imbued  with  some  inherent 
staying  quality,   the  reason  is  simple,   for  these  are 

77 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

volcanic  lands,  and  wherever  in  the  world  the  soil 
is  based  on  a  lava  flow,  it  is  practically  indestruct- 
ible and,  comparatively  speaking,  will  never  wear 
out.  Lava  soil  seems  to  possess  the  quality  of 
rejuvenation — a  youth-restoring  process,  wherein 
none  of  its  virility  or  productive  character  is  lost. 
Wyoming  is  underlaid  with  this  basaltic  basis.  Water? 
These  people  are  spending  $50,000,000  on  irriga- 
tion propositions,  and  the  farmer  who  can  turn  on 
water  over  his  fields  at  will  has  solved  a  problem 
which  makes  him  independent  of  rainfall  and  the 
weather  prophets,  for  his  crop  is  assured. 

EVANSTON 
Population  4,000;  Elevation  6,739  feet 

Evanston  is  927  miles  from  Omaha.  Beautifully 
situated  in  Bear  River  Valley,  the  city  has  six 
churches,  three  schools,  a  new  $12,000  high  school, 
flour  mill,  water  plant  owned  by  the  city,  electric 
lights,  two  weekly  newspapers,  an  opera  house,  two 
banks  with  $650,000  deposits,  lumber  yards,  four 
hotels,  restaurants,  an  ice  storage  plant,  with  18,000 
tons  capacity,  a  city  park,  two  small  railroad  parks, 
new  and  attractive  depot,  round  house  and  machine 
shops.  It  derives  its  material  strength  from  the  live 
stock  of  the  country,  supplemented  by  the  round 
house  and  machine  shops  of  the  Union  Pacific  Rail- 
road. The  new  Federal  building  cost  $200,000. 
Evanston  is  well  laid  out  and  has  a  large  number  of 

78 


WYOMING  VISTAS 


beautiful  homes.  This  city  is  the  seat  of  the  State 
Insane  Asylum,  and  the  United  States  Land  Office; 
it  is  also  headquarters  for  oil  men.  This  is  the 
freight-distributing  center  for  Bear  River  Valley, 
and  many  other  points  within  a  distance  of  250 
miles  in  all  directions. 

HEALING  BALM  OF  MOUNTAIN  AIR 

But  few  diseases  germinate  inWyoming.  Indeed, 
lung  affections,  such  as  bronchitis,  lung  fever  or 
pneumonia,  and  pleurisy,  rarely  occur.  Hence,  per- 
sons who  have  any  predisposition  to  consumption 
find  this  climate  favorable  for  its  eradication  or  at 
least  a  prolonged  lease  of  life.  Many  instances  of 
recovery  have  occurred  here;  in  fact  it  is  the  general 
result,  nine-tenths  of  the  persons  who  have  sought 
this  climate  for  the  benefit  of  lung  troubles,  unless 
they  were  in  the  last  stages  of  consumption,  having 
been  restored.  Many  persons  who  have  reached 
the  stage  of  hemorrhage  from  the  lungs — which  is 
regarded  by  medical  men  as  a  dangerous  degree  in 
the  progress  of  the  insidious  disease — have  come  to 
this  locality  and  in  the  course  of  time  have  been 
restored  through  climatic  influences.  However, 
there  are  advanced  stages  of  the  wasting  away  of 
the  lungs  beyond  which  no  medical  treatment  nor 
climatic  influences  will  restore  the  afflicted. 

Acute  rheumatism  and  neuralgia  are  uncommon 
here  but  slight  attacks  are  frequently  felt.  Persons 
affected  with  a  seated  disease  of  the  heart  should 

79 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

not  come  to  this  altitude;  but  those  suffering  from 
general  nervous  debility  or  dyspepsia  will  find 
Wyoming  an  excellent  climate   for  its  cure. 

As  a  region  for  asthmatic  people,  Wyoming  has 
few  equals,  as  many  residents  within  its  limits  will 
attest.  The  worst  cases  of  this  distressing  lung 
trouble  will  find  sure  cure  here.  Many  hundreds  of 
people  of  all  ages  thus  afflicted  have  come  here 
from  the  low  altitudes  of  the  East  and  West  and 
been  restored  to  health  in  due  course  of  time. 

NOBLE  SCENERY 

It  is  76  miles  from  Evanston  to  Ogden,  and 
every  foot  of  the  way  is  crowded  with  glorious 
scenery.  First  comes  Echo  Canon,  a  superb  defile, 
of  which  an  English  traveler  says:  "So  far  in  our 
overland  journey  we  have  met  with  no  striking 
instance  of  that  most  frequently  occurring  feature  of 
these  regions — the  canon.  What  in  the  Far  West  is 
so  termed  is  sometimes  a  narrow  chasm  in  the 
mountains,  the  bottom  of  which  is  often  the  bed  of 
a  stream  of  water,  the  cliffs  on  either  side  being  nearly 
perpendicular  or  even  inclining  toward  each  other. 
Echo  Canon  has  every  feature  of  impressiveness — 
strong,  determinate  color,  majestic  forms,  and  a 
novel  weirdness.  Usually  the  descent  into  the  canon 
begins  soon  after  dinner  at  Evanston;  the  air  coming 
from  the  mountains  is  inspiring;  the  afternoon  light 
is  growing  mellower,  and  all  the  conditions  are 
favorable  to  the   highest  enjoyment." 

80 


WYOMING  VISTAS 


CASTLE  ROCK 

Castle  Rock  marks  the  beginning  of  this  exciting 
ride,  the  rock  itself  being  one  of  the  most  perfect  of 
those  impressive  types  of  Nature's  handiwork — for 
its  symmetrical  form  and  rigid  adherence  to  architect- 
ural rules  would  stamp  it  as  the  work  of  man. 

OLD  FORTIFICATIONS 

During  the  so-called  "Mormon  War,"  when  John- 
son's army  was  on  its  way  to  Utah,  stone-work 
fortifications  were  erected  at  intervals  along  the  crests 
of  the  cliffs.  Whether  or  not  these  primitive  defenses 
would  have  proved  a  check  to  the  advance  of  the 
Federal  troops  is  a  matter  of  much  conjecture.  Phil 
Robinson  thinks  they  would  have  caused  a  decided, 
though  not  a  final,  halt.  "These  rough  defenses," 
he  writes  in  his  "Sinners  and  Saints,  "  "would  have 
cost  the  army  very  dear.  For  these  stone-works,  like 
the  Afghan's  songhums,  and  intended,  of  course,  for 
cover  against  small  arms  only,  were  carried  along  the 
crests  of  the  cliffs  for  some  miles,  and  each  group 
was  connected  with  the  next  by  a  covered  way, 
while,  in  the  bed  of  the  stream  below,  ditches  had 
been  dug  (some  six  feet  deep  and  twenty  wide), 
right  across  from  cliff  to  cliff,  and  a  dam  constructed 
just  beyond  the  first  ditch  which  in  an  hour  or 
two  would  have  connected  the  whole  canon  for  a 
mile  or  so  into  a  level  sheet  of  water.  On  this  dam 
the  Mormon  guns  were  masked,  and  though,  of 
course,  the  Federal  artillery  would  soon  have  knocked 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

them  off  into  the  water,  a  few  rounds  at  such  a  range 
and  raking  the  army — clubbed  as  it  would  probably 
have  been  at  the  ditches — must  have  proved  terribly 
effective.  This  position,  morever,  though  it  could 
easily  be  turned  by  a  force  diverging  to  the  right 
before  it  entered  the  canon,  could  hardly  be  turned 
by  one  that  had  already  entered  it.  And  to  attempt 
to  storm  those  heights  with  men  of  the  caliber  of  the 
Transvaal  Dutchman  holding  them  would  have  been 
splendid  heroism — or  worse." 

PEACEFUL  DAYS 

But  all  this  was  happily  averted,  and  now  we 
smile  that  we  ever  thought  it  was  possible.  Since 
1857  things  have  changed.  No  longer  the  long  train 
of  dust-covered  wagons,  drawn  by  the  slow  and 
patient  oxen,  winds  through  the  deep  defile.  No 
longer  the  pony  express  or  the  lumbering  stage  coach 
brings  the  quickest  word,  or  forms  the  fastest  trans- 
port between  the  intermountain  regions  and  the 
"States."  The  iron  steed  and  the  Pullman  car  have 
supplanted  them  all;  and  daily  the  great  freight  trains 
gliding  down  the  canon  bring  more  merchandise, 
representing  more  wealth,  than  in  the  early  days 
passed  between  its  portals  in  a  year. 

From  these  old  rock-works,  perched  like  crows' 
nests  on  high,  a  splendid  view  of  the  canon  may  be 
obtained. 

WEBER  VALLEY 

Still  winding  down  we  follow  the  old  Mormon 
trail,    flashing  by   "Steamboat   Rocks,"     "Gibraltar," 

82 


WYOMING  VISTAS 


"Monument  Rock,"  and  "Pulpit  Rock,"  so  called 
both  from,  its  shape  and  from  the  supposition  that 
Brigham  Young  preached  from  it  his  first  sermon  in 
Utah,  addressed  to  the  pioneers  then  on  their  way  to 
Salt  Lake  Valley  in  1847,  The  next  station  is  Echo 
City,  and  then  we  enter  Weber  Valley. 

WEBER  CANON 

Between  the  little  town  of  Echo  and  the  head  of 
the  canon  there  are  several  miles  of  the  Weber 
Valley,  with  its  fields  of  alfalfa,  or  "lucern,"  as  the 
people  choose  to  call  it.  Horses  and  cattle  browse 
in  the  meadows,  and  farm  houses  are  perched  on  the 
hillsides.  Close  to  Echo  is  the  curious  group  of 
rocks  called  "The  Witches."  As  we  pass  down  the 
Weber  Valley  the  scene  is  really  a  pastoral  one.  The 
broad  plain  left  by  the  encircling  mountains  is  green 
and  fresh;  the  river  winds  through  its  grassy  expanse 
in  pleasant  quiet  without  brawl  or  rush;  the  trees  are 
like  those  in  familiar  eastern  country-side.  Only  the 
great  outlines  of  the  surrounding  hills — and  here  and 
there,  on  the  horizon,  some  sharper,  higher,  more 
distant  peaks — show  the  traveler  his  whereabouts, 
and  take  his  mind  from  the  quieter  aspect  of  what 
lies  about  him;  near  by,  in  valleys  leading  into  this, 
are  various  Mormon  settlements,  for  we  are  now 
fairly  into  the  country  of  the  "Saints." 

Weber  Canon  is  not,  as  some  writers  have 
described  it,  simply  a  long  defile  through  the  moun- 
tains, with  perpendicular  heights  walling  in  its  entire 
length;  but  is  a  succession  of  true  mountain  scenery; 

83 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

mighty  gateways;  long  narrow  valleys;  visions  of 
great  peaks,  lifting  jagged  fronts  to  the  sunset,  and 
holding  in  their  scaurs  and  ravines  eternal  snow; 
heights  crested  with  pine  and  aspen;  belts,  bastions, 
barbicans,  towers,  and  domes  of  rock,  and  creeping 
among  them  such  varieties  of  foliage  as  might  be 
expected  from  the  diversity  of  soil  and  position. 

First,  there  is  the  eastern  entrance,  or  Wilhelmina 
Pass,  a  narrow  gateway  between  a  huge  square  bluff 
on  the  left  hand,  and  a  hill  on  the  right,  surmounted 
by  a  vast  mass  of  reddish-gray  rock,  shaped  exactly 
like  a  castle  keep.  Between  their  feet  there  is 
scarcely  room  for  passage  of  railway  and  stream, 
and  the  emigrant  road,  too,  has  to  struggle  through; 
for  it  still  keeps  them  company,  following  all  the 
tortuous  windings  of  the  river,  and  rising  and  fall- 
ing, first  in  a  hollow  and  then  crossing  over  some 
spur  of  the  mountain. 

DEVIL'S  SLIDE 

A  few  hundred  feet  farther,  and  we  are  at  the 
world-famous,  the  most  wonderful  of  all  natural 
curiosities,  the  unique  Devil's,  Slide,  about  which  so 
much  has  been  talked  and  written.  It  has  been 
sketched  and  painted  and  photographed  times  with- 
out end;  and  truly  it  is  a  singular  formation.  It  has 
been  declared  to  be  without  grandeur,  and  this  is 
true;  it  has  no  pretensions  in  this  line,  but  its  singu- 
larity makes  it  so  conspicuous.  Throughout  the 
entire  country,  although  there  are  many  similar 
formations,  there  is  nothing  at  all  approaching  it  in 

84 


WYOMING  VISTAS 


fantastic  appearance.  The  hill,  or  rather  mountain, 
from  whose  side  the  walls  project,  is  composed 
almost  entirely  of  a  dark  red  sandstone;  while  the 
material  of  the  "Slide"  itself  is  a  whitish  sandstone. 
In  order  to  gain  something  of  an  idea  of  the  appear- 
ance it  presents  to  the  traveler  as  he  is  carried  past, 
let  us  first  imagine  we  are  looking  full  at  the  face  of 
the  steep  mountain  (a  mountain  about  800  feet  high), 
remember  the  red  tinge  of  its  rocks,  cover  them  with 
bunches  of  pale  green  artemisia  or  sagebrush,  clusters 
of  scrub  oak,  and  at  irregular  intervals,  a  tall,  dark 
pine.  Out  of  this  mountain,  from  top  to  base,  let 
there  be  thrust  two  white  gray  walls,  parallel  with 
each  other,  perhaps  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  apart 
and  rising  from  twenty  to  forty  feet  in  height;  let 
this  monstrous  slide,  or  whatever  we  choose  to  call 
it,  end  abruptly  at  the  river's  brink  and  be  reflected 
in  its  waters,  and  we  have  a  fair  conception  of  this 
most  singular  object  of  all  the  sportive  creations  of 
Nature  in  the  West. 

THE  l.OOO-MILE  TREE 

A  little  farther  on  stood,  until  a  few  years  ago, 
the  famous  1,000-IVlile  Tree  which,  by  a  curious 
chance,  marked  the  one-thousandth  mile  from 
Omaha.  This  distance  is  not,  however,  correct  now, 
as  the  shortening  of  the  line  has  greatly  reduced 
the  mileage  between  Omaha  and  Ogden.  The 
tree  stood  immediately  alongside  the  track  on  the 
left-hand   side  as  we  go  west. 

85 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

DEVIL'S  GATE 

The  Devil's  Gate  comes  last  in  the  list  of  sights. 
As  may  be  inferred  from  the  name,  it  is  a  gateway,  a 
passage  riven  through  the  mountain.  The  river 
comes  roaring  through  the  open  space  bringing  with 
it  a  wind  that  never  ceases.  The  train  does  not 
pass  through  the  gate,  but  crosses  a  trestle  bridge 
directly  in  front,  and  thus  we  see  the  place  better 
than  if  the  train  passed  through.  To  get  the  strong- 
est impression  of  the  scene  we  should  view  its  gloomy 
surroundings  under  the  effect  produced  by  a  stormy 
sky;  it  is  always  impressive,  though  more  so  when 
the  storm-clouds  come  dashing  across  the  opening 
above  and  are  caught  and  torn  to  pieces  on  the 
sharp  crags  on  the  mountain  tops. 

Shortly  after  leaving  the  gate,  the  locomotive 
whistle  sounds  for  Uintah  station.  This  is  in  the 
mouth  of  the  canon,  so  that  in  a  few  minutes  more 
the  Salt  Lake  Valley  opens  out  to  our  view.  Near 
by  is  Ogden  among  its  bowers  of  trees;  farther 
away,  a  broad  plain;  the  shining  waters  of  the  lake, 
still  farther;  and,  beyond  that  again,  a  range  of  moun- 
tains on  the  western  borders  of  Utah,  and  dim,  vapory 
peaks  rising  from  the  plains  of   Nevada. 


86 


OUR  PLAYGROUNDS 

We  own  so  many  playgrounds  in  this  Empire  of 
the  West  that  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  choose  the 
place  w^here  we  may  enjoy  our  summer  or  w^inter 
playtime  vacation.  In  Europe  the  choice  of  the  place 
is  very  nearly  restricted  to  Switzerland  or  the  Riviera, 
whereas  we  may  elect  for  the  cool  retreats  of  Colorado 
or  Wyoming,  Salt  Lake  and  the  hidden  beauties 
of  Idaho,  Shoshone  and  Hood  River  Valley,  and  the 
whole  of  the  Pacific  Coast  country  from  Mount  Tacoma 
to  Yosemite,  a  glorious  array  of  Nature  loveliness. 

George  T.  Edmunds,  the  "old  man  eloquent"  of  the 
Senate,  in  speaking  of  the  scenic  wonders  of  our  own 
land,  once  said,  in  noting  a  single  feature  with  which 
he  was  familiar,  "I  have  been  through  the  Swiss  moun- 
tains and  am  compelled  to  own  that  there  is  no 
comparison  between  the  finest  effects  exhibited  there 
and  what  is  ,seen  in  approaching  this  grand  and 
isolated  mountain  (Mount  Tacoma).  If  Switzerland 
is  rightly  called  the  'playground  of  Europe,*  I  am 
satisfied  that  this  and  many  other  localities  in  this 
country  will  become  prominent  places  of  resort,  not 
for  America  only,  but  the  world  besides.  For  the 
continent  is  as  yet  in  ignorance  of  our  grandest  show 
places  and  Nature  sanatoriums.  I  would  willingly  go 
300  miles  again  to  see  that  scene."  Judge  Edmunds 
w^asan  uncompromising  American,  and  it  was  refresh- 
ing to  hear  such  loyalty  to  country  from  the  lips  of  a 
man  eminent  as  a  wise  counsellor  and  brilliant  states- 

87 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

man.  His  quoted  words  were  spoken  many  years 
ago,  and  since  then  a  curious  revulsion  has  occurred; 
our  people  continue  to  go  to  Europe,  spending  millions 
of  dollars  a  year  and  absenting  themselves  from 
supreme  grandeurs  at  home,  while  the  keener  seekers 
for  wild  and  rugged  beauty  who  live  across  the  water 
come  to  this  country  to  find  that  which  is  not  equaled 
in  their  own  land. 

It  is  fair  to  say,  however,  that  one  prominent  fea- 
ture of  old  country  sightseeing  and  travel  has  always 
been  the  ease  with  which  all  the  "show  places  '  were 
reached.  Our  stretch  of  country  was  so  great,  and 
so  many  of  our  most  impressive  points  were  located  in 
places  where,  so  to  speak,  the  "elementary  forms  of 
empire"  were  not  even  plastic,  that  a  journey  hither 
was  accompanied  with  no  small  amount  of  discomfort. 
And  in  direct  contrast  we  had,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  European-  playgrounds  offered  as  the  supreme 
luxury  of  "touring  made  easy."  But  in  recent 
years  we  have  made  great  advances  in  this  regard — 
the  approaches  to  our  pleasure-grounds  are  well- 
nigh  primrose  paths.  You  step  from  your  Pullman 
at  the  gateway  of  Yellowstone  National  Park;  the 
same  luxurious  service  lands  you  at  El  Portal  in 
Yosemite — and  when  the  electric  road  is  completed 
around  the  rugged  sides  of  Tacoma  the  ascent  of  our 
noblest  mountain  will  entail  no  more  hardship  than  a 
trolley  ride  around  the  pleasant  streets  of  Portland, 
the  beautiful  "  Rose  City." 

The  later  indications  point  to  a  revival  of  Ameri- 
canism.    There    are    more   and   more    people    every 


OUR  PLAYGROUNDS 


year  who  come  to  see  these  Western  wonders.  And 
it  is  a  heahhy  sign.  Henry  T.  Finck,  the  eminent 
critic,  in  a  charming  paper  in  the  Century  Magazine 
for  February,  1910,  discourses  in  leisurely  fashion 
upon  some  of  the  phases  above  noted,  Mr.  Finck 
says,  "There  are  indications  that  the  exhortation, 
'  See  America  First,'  so  dear  to  Western  editors, 
especially  those  of  the  Pacific  Slope,  is  making 
its  appeal  to  a  greater  number  of  persons  every 
year,  at  least  in  its  modified  form,  '  See  America 
Also.'  For  my  part  after  touring  Europe  nine  times 
and  the  Pacific  Slope  nearly  as  often,  1  usually 
make   it   a   toss-up   which  to  visit   next,  and  I   know 

others  who   feel    the   same   way Mount 

Hood  is  to  Oregon,  and  especially  to  Portland,  what 
Fuji  is  to  Japan.  It  unites  beauty  with  grandeur  as, 
perhaps,  no  other  mountain  does  except  the  Swiss 
Jungfrau  ;  yet,  together  with  the  other  snow  peaks 
visible  from  Portland  Heights,  it  can  not  be  seen  for 
weeks  at  a  time  in  summer,  except  by  going  up  to 
Government  Camp  on  the  south  side,  or  to  Cloud 
Cap  Inn  on  the  north. 

"  Yet  how  few  know  anything  about  this,  the  real 
Switzerland  of  America!  It  has  not  been  advertised, 
not  been  made  accessible  as  the  California  view- 
points have.  The  Oregonians  and  Washingtonians 
are  just  beginning  to  wake  up  to  their  duty  in  this 
respect.  It  is  significant  that  the  official  book  on  the 
State  of  Washington  distributed  at  the  Seattle  Exposi- 
tion, after  dwelling  on  the  State's  marvelous  resources, 
exclaims  that  '  still  its  crowning  glory  is  its  matchless 


89 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

scenery.'  Some  day  this  may  prove  true  even  from 
a  utilitarian  point  of  view.  The  billions  of  fishes — 
among  them  ninety-five  edible  kinds — may  be  exter- 
minated;  the  120,000,000,000  feet  of  timber  may 
be  cut  down  or  devoured  by  flames ;  insects  may 
destroy  the  hops  and  orchards — including  that  tree 
at  Lexington  which  bears  one  thousand  five  hundred 
pounds  of  Royal  Anne  cherries  in  a  year ;  but 
the  scenery  —  including  the  fiords  and  peaks  and 
glaciers  of  Alaska,  to  which  Seattle  is  the  gateway — 
will  remain  forever;  and,  knowing  as  1  do  the  glories 
of  this  region,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  predict  that  within 
a  few  decades  the  summer  climate  and  scenery  of 
this  Northw^est  w^ill  be  a  source  of  revenue  second 
to  none.  Recall  what  her  climate  and  scenery  have 
done  for  California;  and  think  of  the  some  sixty  mil- 
lion dollars  which  Switzerland  derives  every  year 
from  her  scenery  and  her  summer  climate!" 

The  good  natured  irony  regarding  the  "joy  of 
western  editors  in  making  the  appeal  'See  America 
First,"  will  be  received  as  a  compliment.  They 
continually  make  this  exhortation  and  for  the 
good  and  sufficient  reason  that  the  domain  they 
represent,  and  whose  glories  they  vaunt,  possesses 
the  scenery.  Was  it  not  worthy  old  Master  Fuller 
who  said,  "  Know  most  of  the  rooms  of  thy  native 
country  before  thou  goest  over  the  threshhold 
thereof." 


90 


SALT  LAKE  CITY  AND  ITS  TEMPLE 

Any  attempt  to  describe  the  Salt  Lake  City  of 
today  would  involve  a  solid  array  of  imposing 
statistical  figures,  an  elaborate  review  of  what  has 
been  done,  the  status  today,  and  the  outlook 
for  tomorrow;  for  the  undisputed  queen  of  the 
intermountain  region  —  a  splendid  metropolitan 
city  of  90,000  people — -can  not  be  dismissed  with  a 
few  rapid-fire  paragraphs  of  generalization.  Keen- 
sighted,  level-headed  Samuel  Bowles,  away  back  in 
1865,  wrote  home  when  he  visited  here,  "No 
internal  city  of  the  continent  lies  in  such  a  field  of 
beauty,  unites  such  rich  and  rare  elements  of 
Nature's  formations,  holds  such  guarantees  of  great- 
ness,, material  and  social,  'in  the  good  time  coming' 
orour  Pacific  development.  I  met,  all  along  the 
plains  and  over  the  mountains,  the  feeling  that 
Salt  Lake  City  was  to  be  the  great  central  city  of 
the  West." 

All  true;  and  the  dream  or  prophecy  finds  its 
fulfillment  today  in  a  city  imposing  architecturally, 
a  great  artery  of  commerce,  with  no  rivals  near  her 
and  a  limitless  future.  One  day's  walk  about  the 
town  will  demonstrate  to  the  visitor  what  has  been 
accomplished  here  in  transforming  a  desert  out- 
post into  a  fully-equipped  metropolis  in  fifty  years. 
No  other  city  was  ever  founded  in  such  a  forbidding 


The  Newhouse  Building  and  a  Portion  of  Federal  Building, 
Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 


SALT  LAKE  CITY  AND  ITS  TEMPLE 

region,  so  far  away  from  human  habitations;  no 
other  city  had  so  much  to  contend  with,  the  preju- 
dices of  both  Nature  and  men,  the  odds  of  the 
wilderness  and  the  warfare  of  the  creeds.  But  all 
these  impediments  have  been  swept  away,  and 
today  Salt  Lake  holds  dominion  over  the  trade 
and  industry  of  an  area  rich  and  productive  enough 
to  insure  many  times  over  the  fulfillment  of  the 
prophecy  of  Samuel  Bowles. 

There  is  so  much  of  advance  on  every  hand  in 
the  Empire  of  the  West  that  one  reaches  satiety 
often.  Turn  we  rather  to  some  of  the  great  land- 
marks which  denote  the  growth  of  this  wonderful 
city  instead  of  making  vain  comparisons  between 
the  Newhouse  thirteen-story  building  and  one 
which  looks  just  like  it  in  Chicago  or  Cleveland. 
Let  us  take  a  walk  to  Temple  Square — not 
around,  for  it  occupies  ten  acres  of  ground.  And 
first  here  is  Assembly  Hall,  a  semi-gothic  structure 
of  gray  granite,  in  the  south-west  corner.  It  was 
built  from  1877  to  1882,  and  is  68  by  120  feet  in 
dimensions,  having  a  seating  capacity  of  about 
2,300,  and  is  used  for  religious  services,  including 
German  and  Scandinavian  meetings,  and  also  for 
public  lectures  and  concerts  for  which  the  big 
Tabernacle  would  be  larger   than   necessary. 

There  is  a  significance  in  beehive  sketches  of 
the  ceiling  just  above  the  pipe  organ;  for  the  bee- 
hive is  the  State  emblem,  symbolizing  industry. 
The  early  settlers  established  a  form  of  State  gov- 
ernment and  sought  admission  into  the  Union  under 

93 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

the  name  of  the  State  of  Deseret.  "  Deseret "  is  a 
word  taken  from  the  Book  of  Mormon,  meaning 
in  the  language  of  the  ancient  people  of  this  conti- 
nent, the  "honey  bee."  "When,  however,  w^e  were 
given  territorial  government,  and  subsequently 
State  government,  it  was  under  the  name  of  Utah, 
this  title  being  derived  from  the  name  of  the  Ute 
Indian  tribe.  We  retained  the  beehive  as  our 
State  emblem  and  State  seal,  for  it  symbolizes  the 
activity  and  industry  w^hich  have  been  and  are  fun- 
damental in  the  structure  and  growth  of  our  great 
w^estern  State." 

We  go  out  of  the  north  door  of  the  Assembly 
Hall,  facing  directly  the  world-famed  Tabernacle. 
The  Tabernacle  is  an  immense  auditorium,  elliptic 
in  shape,  and  seats  8,000  people;  it  is  250  feet 
long  by  150  feet  wide  and  80  feet  in  height.  The 
self-supporting  wooden  roof  is  a  remarkable  work 
of  engineering.  It  rests  upon  pillars  or  buttresses  of 
red  sandstone,  which  stand  ten  to  twelve  feet  apart 
in  the  whole  circumference  of  the  building.  The 
pillars  support  wooden  arches  10  feet  in  thickness 
and  spanning  150  feet.  These  arches  of  a  lattice 
truss  construction  are  put  together  with  wooden 
pins,  there  being  no  nails  or  iron  of  any  kind 
used  in  the  framework.  The  building  was  erected 
from  1865  to  1867  and  cost  $300,000,  exclusive 
of  the  organ.  This  being  done  before  the  rail- 
road reached  Utah,  all  the  manufactured  material 
used  in  the  construction  had  to  be  hauled  with 
ox    teams    from    the    Missouri    River.      It    was    for 

94 


SALT  LAKE  CITY  AND  ITS  TEMPLE 

this  reason  that   wooden    pins   were  used    in  place 
of  nails. 

THE  GREAT  ORGAN 

In  the  west  end  of  the  Tabernacle  is  the  great 
organ.  It  has  been  conceded  by  visiting  musicians 
that  this  is  the  finest  instrument  in  America,  if  not 
in  the  world.  It  was  constructed  over  thirty  years 
ago,  entirely  by  Utah  artisans  and  mostly  from 
native  materials.  The  front  towers  have  an  altitude 
of  48  feet,  and  the  dimensions  of  the  organ  are 
30  by  33  feet;  it  has  110  stops  and  accessories 
and  contains  a  total  of  over  5,000  pipes,  ranging 
in  length  from  one-fourth  inch  to  32  feet.  It 
comprises  five  complete  organs — solo,  swell,  great, 
choir,  and  pedal;  in  other  words,  four  keyboards 
in  addition  to  the  pedals.  It  is  capable  of  thou- 
sands upon  thousands  of  tonal  varieties.  The 
different  varieties  of  tone  embodied  in  this  noble 
instrument  represent  the  instruments  of  an  orchestra, 
military  band  and  choir,  as  well  as  the  deep  and 
sonorous  stops  for  which  the  organ  is  famed.  There 
is  no  color,  shade  or  tint  of  tone  that  can  not  be  pro- 
duced from  it.  The  action  is  the  Kimball  duplex 
pneumatic.  The  organ  is  blown  by  a  10-horsepower 
electric  motor  and  two  gangs  of  feeders  furnish 
5,000  cubic  feet  of  air  a  minute  when  it  is  being 
•played  full.  The  organist  is  seated  20  feet  from  the 
instrument,  which  places  him  well  among  the  choir. 
Undoubtedly  the  organ  owes  much  to  the  marvel- 
ous   accoustics   of    the    Tabernacle;   but,  even  with 

95 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

this    allowance    made,    it    is    said    to    be    the    most 
perfect  instrument  of  its  kind  in  existence. 

THE  TABERNACLE  CHOIR 

This  famous  body  of  singers,  known  generally  as 
the  Mormon  Tabernacle  Choir,  was  organized  by 
Brigham  Young  in  the  early  days  of  the  State.  The 
present  mammoth  organization  of  500  enrolled 
singers,  the  largest  regular  church  choir  in  the 
world,  dates  back  to  1890. 

THE  TEMPLE 

Four  days  after  the  arrival  of  the  pioneers  in  this 
valley,  on  July  28,  1847,  President  Brigham  Young, 
while  walking  over  the  ground  with  his  associates, 
suddenly  stopped  and,  striking  the  point  of  his  cane 
into  the  soil,  exclaimed,  "Here  we  will  build  the 
Temple  of  our  God."  One  of  his  companions, 
the  late  President  Wilford  Woodruff,  drove  a  small 
stake  into  the  hole  made  by  President  Young's 
cane,  and  later,  when  the  ground  for  the  building 
was  surveyed,  the  stake  was  in  the  center  of  the 
plot  laid  out  as  the  spot  on  which  the  Temple  should 
be  reared. 

At  the  general  conference  held  in  April,  1851, 
the  formal  proposition  to  build  the  Temple  was 
made  to  the  people  and  was  unanimously  adopted. 
Nearly   two  years  later,  on   February   14,  1853,  the 

96 


SALT  LAKE  CITY  AND  ITS  TEMPLE 

site  for  the  structure  was  surveyed,  the  block  was 
solemnly  dedicated,  and  ground  was  broken  for 
the  foundation  of  the  Temple.  Actual  work  on  the 
structure  began  in  1853;  it  was  completed  and  dedi- 
cated in  1893,  its  construction  covering  a  period 
of  forty  years;  and  its  cost  in  money  and  labor  was 
not  less  than  $4,000,000.  The  building  of  this 
Temple  was  one  of  the  objects  of  the  people  in  com- 
ing to  this  country.  To  "erect  a  Temple  to  their 
God"  in  the  great  western  wilderness  was  one  of  the 
prime  purposes  of  the  sacrifices  which  were  so 
patiently  borne  by  that  people  m  crossing  the  great 
desert  and  pitching  their  tents  upon  this  then  barren 
soil.  The  story  of  that  struggle  in  the  face  of 
appalling  obstacles  partakes  of  the  heroic.  Nothing 
less  than  the  fervid  spirit  of  religious  exaltation 
reduced  to  a  working  basis  could  have  accomplished 
the  miracle.  The  little  settlement  was  only  six 
years  old  when  the  work  began;  the  stone  to  be 
quarried  was  a  veritable  mountain  of  granite  at 
the  mouth  of  Little  Cottonwood  Canon,  20  miles 
away ;  horses  and  oxen  were  few,  and  the  prepara- 
tion and  harvesting  of  crops  Were  vital  facts;  the 
rude  roads  were  well-nigh  impassable  for  heavily- 
laden  teams,  and  had  constantly  to  be  rebuilt;  the 
way  led  across  level  plain,  up  high  hills  and  across 
deep  ravines;  the  oxen  and  horses  were  old  and 
decrepit,  and  the  blocks  of  granite  were  so  large 
that  four  yoke  of  oxen  were  required  to  haul  each 
one  the  20  miles  to  town — and  four  days  were 
consumed     in     transit!       They    built    laboriously    a 

97 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

canal  from  Big  Cottonwood  River  beyond  the 
mouth  of  the  canon,  expending  thousands  of  dollars 
and  two  years'  labor,  but  no  boat  was  ever  laden 
with  stone  for  Zion  —  the  bed  of  the  ditch  was 
loam,  and  when  the  water  was  turned  on,  it  perco- 
lated through  the  treacherous  soil  as  if  it  had  been 
a  sieve!  In  1864,  seven  years  after  the  first  canal 
had  been  abandoned,  they  started  another,  some 
distance  farther  down;  but  the  railroad  arrived  at 
Little  Cottonwood  Caiion  and  the  construction  of 
the  second  canal  was  abandoned.  Every  stone  w^as 
marked  and  numbered,  and  was  put  in  place  with- 
out difficulty.  The  process  of  loading  the  wagons 
was  an  interesting  one.  "As  we  had  no  mechanical 
lifting  apparatus,  the  large  blocks  had  to  be  got  on 
the  wagons  as  best  they  could,  and  it  became  a 
serious  question.  Finally,  however,  the  plan  was 
adopted  of  digging  a  trench  large  enough  for  a 
wagon  to  pass  through,  so  that  the  bed  of  the 
wagon  would  come  even  with  the  ground  where 
the  rock  was  lying,  and  then  with  a  lot  of  men  with 
lever  stakes,  and  skids,  and  rollers,  the  stone  was 
lifted  and  pried  over  onto  the  w^agon,  and  the  oxen 
started  off  with  their  load.  "  When  the  railroad 
arrived,  about  the  year  1873,  lifting  derricks  also 
came,  and  the  troubles  were  all  over.  The  road 
was  a  narrow-gauge  affair,  built  from  Sandy  on  the 
main  line  of  the  old  Utah  Southern.  In  the  mean- 
time, too,  the  Emma  mine  had  opened  over  the 
Little  Cottonwood  Mountain,  the  line  was  con- 
tinued  to  Alta,  and   traffic    from  the  cafion  became 

98 


SALT  LAKE  CITY  AND  ITS  TEMPLE 

lively.  One  of  that  hardy  band  gives  a  vivid 
picture  of  the  hardships  endured:  "We  all 
worked  some  at  the  quarries.  It  was  hard  work, 
but  1  did  mostly  team  driving.  1  remember  that 
the  worst  kinds  of  hardships  were  the  portion  of 
those  days,  and  the  workers  in  the  stone  quarries 
shared  them  in  common  with  the  others.  For 
three  days  at  a  time  I  have  known  them  to  be 
without  a  scrap  of  anything  to  eat  except  salt.  We 
would  eat  the  salt  and  drink  water,  and  survived  in 
this  way.  1  hardly  know  how  we  ever  got  through, 
but  God  Almighty  was  with  us,  or  we  should 
surely  have  perished." 

On  April  6,  1833,  the  twenty-third  anniversary 
of  the  church,  work  had  advanced  sufficiently  to 
allow  the  laying  of  the  corner-stones,  and  this 
ceremony  was  performed  by  the  full  hierarchy  of 
the  church.  The  foundation  was  commenced 
June  16,  1853,  and  finished  July  23,  1855.  The 
capstone  of  the  Temple  was  laid  April  6,  1892,  with 
impressive  services  and  in  the  presence  of  the 
largest  assemblage  ever  gathered  in  Utah.  Imme- 
diately after  these  ceremonies,  the  work  of  sur- 
mounting the  capstone  with  the  figure  representing 
the  ^ngel  Moroni  was  proceeded  with.  This  figure 
is  of  gigantic  proportions,  being  twelve  feet  five  and 
a  half  inches  in  height.  The  idea  conveyed  by  the 
statue  is  that  of  a  herald,  or  messenger,  in  the  act 
of  blowing  a  trumpet,  an  embodiment  of  the  fact  of 
Moroni  bringing  the  Gospel  to  the  earth  in  this 
latter    day    dispensation.     The    figure    is    admirably 

99 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

proportioned  and  its  poise  is  graceful.  It  is  made 
of  hammered  copper,  gilded  with  pure  gold-leaf, 
and  surmounting  its  crown  is  an  incandescent  lamp 
of  one  hundred  candle-power.  The  placing  of  the 
ornamental  spires  on  the  other  towers  was  con- 
tinued till  all  were  in  place,  each  being  provided 
with  electric  lights  ;  the  tower  walls  were  washed, 
painted,  and  received  the  finishing  touches,  and 
gradually  the  scaffolding  was  removed,  leaving  the 
building,  so  far  as  the  exterior  was  concerned, 
completed,  and  with  nothing  to  mar  the  sight  and 
study  of  its  magnificent  beauty.  It  was  not  com- 
pleted until  1893,  just  forty  years  after  it  was 
commenced.  Of  course  there  were  intervals  when 
work  had  to  be  suspended,  owing  to  the  poverty  of 
the  people  and  other  difficulties  that  confronted 
them  in  the  early  days.  The  building  cost  in  all 
about  $4,000,000  and,  since  its  dedication  on 
April  6,  1893,  no  visitors  have  been  admitted. 
The  Temple  is  186+  feet  long  by  99  feet  wide, 
its  greatest  height  being  222  feet  to  the  top  of  the 
figure  which  surmounts  the  central  eastern  tower. 
Less  than  six  years  after  the  first  pioneers  found 
here  a  desolate,  sagebrush  wilderness  they  laid 
the  foundation  walls,  16  feet  wide  and  8  feet 
deep,  while  above  ground  the  walls  vary  in  thick- 
ness from  6  to  9  feet ;  the  building  covers  an 
area  of  21,850  feet.  There  are  six  towers,  three 
on  the  east  and  three  on  the  west  end  of  the 
structure.  Other  measurements  may  be  sum- 
marized as  follows : 


SALT  LAKE  CITY  AND  ITS  TEMPLE 


Feet 

Height  of  central  east  tower  to  end  of  brick  work 210 

**         "         "       "    top  of  spires 222  j 

"      west       "       "  end  of  brick  work 204 

"         "         "       "    top  of  spires . 219 

side     east       "       "  end  of  brick  work 188 

"         "         "       "   top  of  spires 200 

"     west       "      "  end  of  brick  work 182 

"         "      "   top  of  spires 194 

walls  to  top  of  rock  work 167^ 

Thickness  of  walls  at  bottom 9 

"           "       "      "  top 6 

"          "  buttresses 7 

Surely  nothing  which  could  contribute  to  its  sta- 
bility, convenience,  comfort,  and  elegance  has  been 
neglected.  As  an  instance  of  the  first-named  quality 
may  be  mentioned  the  circular  stairways  in  each 
corner  tower,  extending  from  the  basement  to  the 
very  top;  the  steps,  upwards  of  two  hundred  in 
number,  are  all  of  solid  granite  cut  by  hand,  \uilt 
into  the  massive  walls  and  the  gigantic  newel  posts 
of  solid  masonry;  the  only  woodwork  is  a  wain- 
scoting of  heavy  oak,  crowned  with  molding  and 
relieved  by  hand  rail;  the  whole  giving  an  impression 
of  the  time-defying  castles  of  the  Middle  Ages,  built 
to  stand,  without  crack  or  quiver,  for  a  thousand 
years.  How  successfully  convenience  has  been 
sought  may  be  understood  from  the  fact  that  the 
building  is  completely  fitted  up  for  lighting  by 
electricity  in  every  room  and  corridor  and  on  every 
floor  of  the  interior  as  well  as  on  the  spires  of  all 
the  towers;  that  it  has  its  own  electric  light  plant, 
located  at  the  west  end  of  the  basement  of  the 
main   building,   in   the  machinery  room,  where  four 


SALT  LAKE  CITY  AND  ITS  TEMPLE 

engines  and  four  dynamos  are  placed  with  a 
capacity  of  2,000  lights,  as  well  as  the  neces- 
sary pumps,  boilers,  and  motive  power  for  the  two 
handsomely  finished  elevators  which  operate  in  the 
w^st  central  tower. 

Comfort  is  secured  by  a  thorough  system  of  hot- 
water  heating,  already  in  full  operation  and  a  pro- 
nounced success.  The  vast  building  in  all  its  parts 
can  be  maintained  at  an  equable,  balmy,  healthful 
temperature,  without  undue  heat  at  any  point 
or  an  insufficient  degree  at  another.  The  main 
pipe,  12  inches,  connects  with  the  boilers,  330 
feet  distant.  The  main  is  not  buried  in  the  earth 
but  is  laid  in  a  stone-lined  tunnel,  so  that  it  can 
be  reached  at  any  time.  Equally  effective  are 
the  arrangements  for  cooling  the  building  during  the 
w^arm  season.  Ventilation  is  secured  by  pushing 
electric  buttons,  which  throw  open  transoms  in  the 
various  rooms  and  start  sixteen  fans,  each  of  one- 
half  horse-power.  Absolutely  fireproof  as  the  building 
is,  it  has  nevertheless  been  provided  on  each  floor 
with  adequate  protection  in  case  the  unexpected, 
one  might  almost  say  the  impossible,  should  happen. 
A  standpipe  and  fire  hose  are  readily  available,  and 
at  the  top  of  the  southwest  tower  is  a  reserve  tank 
with  a  capacity  of   7,000  gallons  of  water. 

The  marble  tiled  baptismal  room  in  the  basement 
is  grand  and  impressive  in  all  of  its  appointments. 
The  capacious  bronze  font  rests  upon  the  backs  of 
twelve  life-sized  bronzed  oxen,  a  reminder  of  a  like 
feature  in  the  House  of  Solomon,  which  "stood  upon 

103 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

twelve  oxen,  three  looking  toward  the  north,  three 
looking  toward  the  west,  three  looking  toward  the 
south,  and  three  looking  tow^ard  the  east,  and  the 
sea  was  set  above  them,  and  all  their  hinder  parts 
^vere  inward."  This  large  room  has  a  pavement  and 
base  of  fine  white  marble.  A  smaller  room  on  an 
upper  floor,  resplendent  in  blue  and  gold,  is  paved 
with  an  artistically-designed  native  wood  mosaic,  the 
blocks  being  no  more  than  an  inch  square  and  finely 
polished.  White  and  gold  are  the  prevailing  colors 
throughout,  and  harmonious  tints,  judiciously  dis- 
tributed, remove  every  suggestion  of  too  dazzling 
brightness.  Notably  is  this  the  case  in  the  overhead 
and  side  decorations  of  a  large  high  room  on  the 
north  side,  which  is  exquisitely  chaste,  harmonious 
and  natural  in  color  as  well  as  in  every  appoint- 
ment. So  it  goes  from  foundation  to  summit  — 
everywhere  are  symmetry,  solidity,  richness,  and 
purity.  We  pause  a  moment  to  examine  in  various 
corridors,  the  permanent  wash  basins,  made  of  solid, 
rare  and  delicately-tinted  onyx,  with  plumbing  fix- 
tures throughout  of  appropriate  finish,  and  note  as 
an  evidence  of  the  thorough  attention  that  has  been 
paid  to  detail,  that  even  the  door  and  window  hard- 
ware has  been  made  to  order  expressly  for  the  build- 
ing ;  the  beehive  ornaments  the  door  knobs  and 
with  the  design  of  the  clasped  hands  is  the  motto  — 
"Holiness  to  the  Lord."  In  the  basement  these  fixtures 
(including  all  locks,  hinges,  bolts,  etc.)  are  of  brass; 
on  the  first  floor  they  are  of  plated  gold ;  on  the 
second  of  plated  silver;  and   above   that  and  in  the 

104 


SALT  LAKE  CITY  AND  ITS  TEMPLE 

smaller  rooms  of  old  bronze.  There  are  four  floors 
counting  the  basement,  and  each  one,  excepting  the 
top,  is  divided  into  rooms  of  varying  sizes.  This 
upper,  or  assembly,  room  occupies  the  whole  extent 
of  the  building,  except  the  towers;  being  120  feet 
long,  80  feet  wide  and  36  feet  high,  with  a  seating 
capacity,  including  the  gallery,  of  nearly  3,000  per- 
sons. The  gallery  is  of  graceful  sweep,  it  is  railed 
with  bronze,  and  is  reached  with  circular  stairways 
in  each  of  the  four  towers.  The  elevated  stands  for 
the  priesthood  at  either  end,  the  choice  hand-carved 
decorations  of  dais  and  balcony,  the  broad  audito- 
rium, the  artistically-paneled  ceiling  and  frescoed 
frieze,  with  innumerable  permanent  lights  mingled 
in  the  cornice,  and  five  dependent  chandeliers — all 
combine  in  presenting  a  scene  which  is  equally 
imposing  by  day  or  by  night. 

After  all  has  been  said  concerning  Salt  Lake 
and  the  beauty  of  her  environs,  the  truth  remains 
that  Saltair  is  the  prime  attraction  for  every  man, 
woman,  and  child,  who  may  stop  for  a  month,  a 
week,  or  a  day  in  the  city.  To  bathe  in  water 
wherein  you  can  not  sink  is  a  novel  experience  not 
found  elsewhere  in  the  world — save  the  Dead  Sea 
in  Palestine.  According  to  analysis  the  water  of  the 
Great  Salt  Lake  gives  nearly  14  per  cent  of  solid 
matter,  or,  in  other  words,  seven  pounds  of  lake 
water  yields  one  pound  of  salt,  85  per  cent  of  which 
is  common  salt,  A  later  analysis  shows  that  the 
water  contains  18  per  cent  of  solid  matter.  The 
sulphates   are    formed   by   the    inflowing    of    waters 

105 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

from  the  many  sulphur  springs  which  empty  into 
the  lake.  The  water  of  Great  Salt  Lake  is  free  from 
odor,  its  specific  gravity  is  1. 1 07  distilled  water.  It 
contains  nearly  twenty-five  ounces  avoirdupois  of 
saline  matter  to  each  imperial  gallon  held  in  solu- 
tion.    The  dry  salt  in  every  100  grains  contains: 

Common   Salt 85.089 

Lime  Carbonate .117 

Lime  Sulphate .531 

Epsom  Salts 8.145 

Chloride  of   Magnesia 6.118 

Total 1  00.000 

Salt  Lake  is  not  a  sullen,  listless  sheet  of  water, 
beating  idly  on  the  shores,  barren  and  repellent;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  it  is  as  beautiful  a  piece  of  marine 
view  as  can  be  found  anywhere.  The  waves  are  a 
bright  blue  or  green,  and  as  they  dance  on  its  sur- 
face it  would  be  hard  to  tell  which  color  prevails. 
The  water  supports  no  life.  Its  constant  sinking 
and  rising  is  only  one  of  its  many  curious  phases. 
The  sensation  upon  entering  the  water  is  novel 
and  congenial.  In  the  long  sunny  days  of  June, 
July,  August,  and  September  the  water  becomes 
warm,  much  warmer  than  the  ocean.  Seven  islands 
grace  the  lake;  they  are  Antelope  and  Stansbury, 
the  two  largest,  one  18  the  other  19  miles  in  length; 
Carrington,  with  its  satellite.  Hat  Island,  just  beyond 
Stansbury;  Fremont's,  the  first  island  visited  by  Fre- 
mont and  Carson,  is  relieved  against  the  steep  bald 
hills  of  Promontory  Range;  Strong's  Knob  shows  to 
westward;  and  Gunnison's,  loveliest  of  them  all,  far 
to   the    north.     Vista    beyond   vista,    snow   covered 

io6 


SALT  LAKE  CITY  AND  ITS  TEMPLE 

mountains  bound  the  view.  From  the  balcony  of 
Saltair,  where  we  sit,  full  in  sight  lies  the  whole 
of  the  vast,  briny  deep,  the  mysterious  inland  sea 
so  well  called  the  "dead,"  displayed  in  its  whole 
length  and  breadth,  its  surface  gleaming  like  a  mir- 
ror of  polished  steel,  and  its  more  distant  islands 
and  shores  seeming  to  float  in  air,  seen  through  the 
waving  undulations  of  the  summer  mirage. 

SALTAIR 

Saltair  Beach  is  an  amusement  and  bathing 
resort  on  the  shore  of  Great  Salt  Lake,  13  miles 
from  Salt  Lake  City.  It  is  reached  by  a  thirty-minute 
ride  on  the  Salt  Lake  &  Los  Angeles  Railroad, 
especially  well  equipped  for  transporting  the  im- 
mense crowds  which  go  there  every  day  during  the 
summer  season. 

The  aggregation  of  buildings  stands  on  piles 
4,000  feet  from  shore,  grouped  symmetrically  with 
a  large  central  structure  and  connected  with  tapering 
piers,  the  whole  forming  an  immense  perfect  cres- 
cent whose  ends  curve  toward  the  lake.  It  is  said 
to  be  the  largest  bathing  pavilion  in  the  world,  and 
its  beauty  is  admitted  by  everybody.  Design  is 
Moorish;  length  1,200  feet,  widest  part  360  feet, 
main  tower  rising  130  feet  above  the  surface  of  the 
water. 

Trains  reach  it  over  a  bridge  of  piling  and  pas- 
sengers are  landed  at  the  main  entrance.  The  main 
floors  of  the  buildings  are  devoted  to  luncheon  and 

107 


SALT  LAKE  CITY  AND  ITS  TEMPLE 

refreshment  rooms,  bowling,  roller  skating,  target 
shooting,  merry-go-rounds,  moving  pictures,  swings, 
see-saws,  and  the  facilities  for  bathers  which 
include  nearly  a  thousand  dressing-rooms  with  wash- 
stands,  fresh-water  shower  baths,  etc.  The  upper 
story  of  the  immense  central  pavilion  is  the  striking 
feature  of  the  place,  having  a  floor  of  polished  oak 
140  by  250  feet,_  unobstructed  by  pillar  or  post. 
The  roof — just  such  a  one  as  on  the  famous  Taber- 
nacle in  Salt  Lake  City,  only  larger  in  every  direc- 
tion— is  supported  by  an  arch  of  steel  beams.  One 
thousand  couples  may  dance  at  one  time  in  this  great 
hall  without  crowding. 

Saltair  has  its  own  electric  light  plant,  and  at 
night,  when  its  1,250  incandescent  and  forty  arc 
lights  are  turned  on  and  the  great  tower  is  aflame 
with  its  2,000  candle-power  lights,  the  effect  is 
distinctly  visible  ,. from  the  higher  portions  of  Salt 
Lake  City. 

The  resort,  which  cost  $350,000,  is  conducted 
by  the  Mormon  Church,  great  care  being  taken  to 
keep  it  up  to  a  high  standard  of  respectability. 
During  the  bathing  season  quite  300,000  persons 
visit  Saltair.  It  is  a  common  ground,  and  good 
fellowship  is  the  rule,  for  there  is  plenty  of  room  for 
all.  Every  tourist  who  visits  Salt  Lake  City  visits 
Saltair. 


109 


OGDEN  CANON 

It  is  one  of  the  most  unexpected  things  about  the 
Wahsatch  canons — their  great  diversity  of  scenery. 
No  two  are  ahke.  Take,  for  instance,  the  comple- 
mentary effect  of  Echo,  with  its  bare,  gaunt  rocks, 
its  stertile  subhmity,  as  contrasted  with  the  masses  of 
foliage  that  line  the  stream,  and  clothe  the  precipi- 
tous sides  of  Weber,  and  the  force  of  this  remark  will 
be  realized.  And  this  will  be  found  the  case  with  all 
the  canons  of  the  Wahsatch;  each  has  some  domi- 
nant characteristic  that  gives  it  individuality.  Either 
it  is  the  class  of  foliage,  the  coloring  of  its  rock  walls, 
the  nature  of  its  streams,  or  something  that  leaves  a 
decided  impression  different  from  the  one  last  received. 
In  this  respect  Ogden  Canon  is  not  a  whit  behind  its 
neighbors;  it  stands  apart  and  asserts  itself.  It  is 
Ogden  Canon,  and  no  other  canon — Odgen  Canon, 
with  a  set  of  scenes  contributing  an  ample  share  to 
that  volume  of  scenic  impressions  written  upon  the 
mind  of  the  traveler  w^ho  uses  his  pow^ers  of  observa- 
tion during  a  trip  over  the  Union  Pacific,  the  great 
transcontinental  line. 

Properly  we  ought  to  include  the  Ogden  River  in 
our  description,  even  after  it  leaves  the  mouth  of  the 
canon,  for  it  will  remain  in  the  memory  as  a  part  of 
the  caiion  scenery — the  river  the  child  of  the  canon. 
If  one  is  desirous  of  seeing  a  number  of  most  beauti- 
ful combinations  of  valley,  stream,  and  mountain,  let 


OGDEN  CANON 


him  or  her  spend  a  few  hours  in  wandering  along  the 
banks  of  Ogden  River.  The  woodland  streams  of  the 
East,  no  doubt,  are  as  attractive  in  themselves;  but 
where  is  one  with  such  a  magnificent  panorama  of 
beetling  heights  showing  over  the  tree-tops  and 
between  the  trunks,  to  lend  it  additional  beauty  and 
to  stamp  it  with  the  elements  of  grandeur  as  well  as 
those  of  grace? 

This  Ogden  stream  is  not  to  be  surpassed  in  pic- 
turesqueness.  An  artist  might  find  there  a  whole  sum- 
mer's sketching.  It  combines  the  charm  of  the 
Eastern  forest  stream  with  that  of  the  mountain  tor- 
rent. Passing  along  alternately  in  glassy  reaches,  or 
murmuring  among  the  boulders,  its  every  turn  is  an 
attractive  picture.  Everyone,  even  the  most  prosaic 
man  or  woman,  must  stop  to  admire  as  does  the 
artist. 

A  noted  American  painter  (who  has  his  studio  in 
New  York  City)  has  painted  six  large  pictures  from 
the  locality,  and  not  one  of  the  sketches  was  made 
from  a  spot  more  than  fifteen  minutes'  w^alk  from  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad  depot. 

A  beautiful  boulevard  leads  from  the  city  of 
Ogden  through  an  opening  in  the  mountains  to  the 
east.  This  opening  connects  the  valley  of  the  Great 
Salt  Lake  with  the  Alpine  Mesa,  15  miles  distant, 
and  is  an  outlet  for  the  swift  river  from  which  Ogden 
derives  its  name. 

The  boulevard,  hugging  the  mountain  side  along 
the  Ogden  River  banks  as  it  does,  is  one  one  of  the 
most  delightful  automobile  drives  in  all  the  West. 

113 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

Electric  street  cars  leave  the  Union  Depot  every 
twenty  minutes  for  this   unrivaled   majestic  scenery. 

During  the  summer  seasons,  Ogden  Canon  might 
well  be  termed  a  "Tented  City.  "  Visitors  flock 
here  from  all  quarters  of  the  country,  seeking  the 
cool  mountain  retreats,  where  camping,  fishing,  hunt- 
ing, boating,  and  other  outdoor  amusements  may  be 
found.  Nicely  furnished  tent  cottages  may  be  rented 
by  the  week,  month,  or  season  at  reasonable  rates. 

Chief  among  the  canon  resorts  are  the  following: 

Rock  Ridge 6    miles 

Hermitage 7 

Idlewild 8J      " 

Oaks 8J      " 

These  distances  are  from  the  Union  Depot. 

The  hotels  at  these  points  furnish  every  luxury, 
whil^  the  magnificent  cafes  are  famed  the  country 
over  for  their  trout  and  chicken  dinners. 

At  the  entrance  to  the  canon,  31'  miles  distant 
from  the  heart  of  the  city,  are  the  Ogden  Canon 
Hot  Springs.  These  springs  are  improved  by  hotel, 
sanatorium  and  bath  houses.  They  possess  reme- 
dial virtues  of  the  highest  order,  and  have  effected 
many  phenomenal  cures,  the  curative  properties  of 
the  water  equaling  that  of  the  far-famed  Arkansas 
Hot  Springs. 

The  entrance  of  Ogden  Canon,  or  "mouth,"  as  it 
is  called  in  the  w^estern  parlance,  is  plainly  seen 
from  the  depot,  with  the  cliffs  beyond,  that  excite  so 
much  admiration  from  all  tourists.  Three  miles  from 
the    town,  just  before    entering  between    the    rocky 

114 


OGDEN   CANON 


heights,  we  cross  over  a  slight  rise  in  the  road, 
and  get  that  much  vaunted  bench  view  of  which  all 
Ogdenites  are  so  proud.  It  is  a  striking  scene,  and 
perhaps  the  most  extensive  and  diverse  piece  of 
landscape  to  be  seen  on  the  entire  trip  across  the 
continent.  To  go  into  detail  would  be  tedious. 
Portions  of  the  Wahsatch,  the  Ogumale,  the  Malad, 
the  Grantsville,  and  other  mountains  are  included 
in  the  view.  The  valley  of  Ogden,  with  its  two 
rivers,  the  Ogden  and  Weber,  and  the  city  itself 
embowered  in  foliage,  makes  up  the  middle  distance 
and  the  foreground;  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  with  its 
many  islands,  stretches  along  the  horizon,  its  waters 
appearing  of  the  deepest  ultramarine  blue  in  the 
early  morning,  and  undergoing  all  the  changes 
of  the  chameleon  ere  the  sun  falls  behind  the  purple 
ranges  of  western  mountains.  Well  may  the  people 
of  Ogden  be  proud  of  that  view.  The  longer  we 
look  upon  its  wonderful  features,  the  more  we  are 
entranced,  and  if  we  linger  until  sunset  and  see  the 
god  of  day  bathe  them  all  in  glowing  and  beauteous 
colors,  make  the  distant  lake  appear  of  be  a  vast 
reservoir  of  molten  gold,  and  the  mountain  peaks 
glow  like  red-hot  iron  ready  for  the  forge  of  Cyclops, 
fill  all  the  vast  space  with  such  scarlets  and  purples 
as  are  never  seen  on  the  eastern  seaboard,  we  will 
cease  wondering  why  Utah  is  spoken  of  as  a  place 
of  magic  colors. 

The  first  point  of  interest  in  the  canon  is  The 
Narrows,  and  these  extend  for  about  two  miles  up. 
There  must  have  been  a  terrible  commotion  in  this 

115 


OGDEN  CANON 


part  of  the  Wahsatch  at  some  time;  the  rock  strata 
is  tilted,  curved,  and  twisted  in  all  conceivable 
shapes.  The  stream  comes  roaring  down  over  the 
fallen  masses,  and  on  a  stormy  day  w^hen  the  clouds 
are  caught  on  the  ragged  mountain  peaks  above,  it  is 
a  scene  of  startling  wildness. 

At  the  top  of  "The  Narrows"  there  is  an  old  saw- 
mill, adding  much  to  the  picturesqueness  of  the  place, 
and  from  the  hillside  above,  a  glimpse  of  the  lake 
with  its  shining  levels  may  be  caught  between  the 
dark  frowning  walls.  "Adam's  Fall  "  is  the  name 
given  to  a  pretty  sheet  of  tumbling  water  that  comes 
in  on  the  right  hand  of  the  road  from  what  is  known 
as  Cold  Water  Canon.  In  general,  the  Utah  Moun- 
tains are  somewhat  devoid  of  waterfall,  but  this  one 
is  very  pretty  indeed.  The  surrounding  rocks  and 
trees  form  a  shady  bow^er,  where  the  visitor  can  rest 
and  dream  to  the  ever  pleasant  sound  of  softly 
exploding  foam  bubbles.  There  is  another  fall 
not  far  from  this  one,  but  it  is  in  a  side  glen  called 
Waterfall  Canon;  however,  a  trail  leads  from  Ogden 
Cafion  to  it,  so  the  visitor,  if  he  is  so  inclined,  can  see 
the  spot  on  his  return  trip. 

From  The  Narrows,  for  at  least  ten  miles,  there  is 
a  constant  change  in  the  scenery,  partly  rural,  partly 
wild.  The  South  Fork,  Wheeler's  Creek,  the  North 
Fork,  and  other  places  of  interest  are  passed. 
Wheeler's,  Winslow's,  and  Fry's  groves  contribute 
much  to  the  general  beauty.  Eight  miles  from  the 
mouth  the  canon  opens  out  into  a  valley  in  which 
are  situated  the  typical  little  Mormon  settlements  of 

117 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

Huntsville  and  Eden.  Above  this  the  canon  again 
forms,  and  is  known  as  the  Upper  South  Fork.  All 
through  this  part  there  are  cattle  and  horse  ranches, 
and  it  will  be  noticed  that  oats  of  the  very  finest 
quality  are  raised  in  these  high  mountain  localities. 


Power  Site  in  the  Wind  River  Mountains,  no  Miles 
North  of  Rock  Springs,  Wyoming 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK 

Where  in  confusion  canons  and  mountains  and 
swift-running  rivers  with  painted  banks  abound, 
and  elk  and  deer,  buffalo  and  bear  range  through  the 
wilds  unterrified  by  man  and  gun,  and  tall,  straight 
pines  in  almost  unbroken  forests,  plant  their  feet  in  a 
tangle  of  down-timber  that  centuries  were  required  to 
produce;  where  in  the  earth  there  are  vents  through 
w^hich  roar  and  rush  at  exact  intervals  columns  of 
boiling  water,  sometimes  more  than  two  hundred 
feet  high,  or  in  which  painted  mud  blubbers  and 
spurts;  where  pools  by  thousands  at  scalding  heat 
boil  and  murmur;  where  under  one's  feet  is  felt  the 
hollow  of  the  earth  and  through  hundreds  of  holes 
of  unfathomable  depth  come  deep  growls  of  Nature 
in  her  confinement;  where  dyes  have  been  daubed 
in  delirium  on  hillsides  and  river's  brink;  where  a, 
canon  gashes  the  earth  thousands  of  feet  through 
colors  so  vivid  and  varied  that  no  record  can  write 
them  down;  where  one  of  the  highest  navigable 
lakes  in  the  world  washes  the  feet  of  mountains  that 
hold  aloft  the  snows  through  every  month  of  the 
year;  where  the  supernal  and  the  infernal  are  blended 
in  a  harmony  that  only  Infinitude  can  produce, 
and  every  miracle  of  Creation  has  been  worked; 
where  one  can  be  lost  in  a  wilderness  as  long  as  he 
will  and  come  face  to  face  with  almost  every  form 
of  creative  eccentricity — there,  is  Geyserland. 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

"You  go  to  Ogden  by  the  Union  Pacific  and 
turn  to  the  right,  "  as  Dumont  Smith  puts  it, 
and  this  fairly  represents  the  easy  accessibility  of  this 
Wonderland.  The  trip  is  north  from  Ogden  through 
Pocatello  to  Yellowstone,  Montana,  only  19  miles 
from  the  Fountain  Hotel,  and  you  are  at  the 
portal  of  the  Park  without  an  hours'  discomfort  or 
delay.  From  here  the  first  stage  of  the  journey  is 
made  by  coach;  it  is  the  beginning  of  the  158-mile 
swing  around  the  circle  and  back  to  Yellowstone. 
The  stage  coach,  the  old-fashioned  one  with  the  lofty 
seat  for  the  driver  and  the  boot  and  the  thorough- 
brace,  the  rocking-cradle  vehicle  that  served  so  well 
when  civilization  was  beating  its  way  westward  fifty 
years  ago,  holds  the  first  right-of-way  through  the 
Park.  Driven  from  use  almost  everywhere  else  by 
the  iron  horse,  it  has  found  safe  refuge  there,  and 
neither  the  railways  nor  the  automobiles  can  enter  to 
oppose  it.  It  is  not  far  to  this  Wonderland — certainly 
not  far  over  the  Union  Pacific  for  the  visitor  who 
finds  himself  in  Omaha,  Kansas  City,  Denver,  or  Salt 
Lake.  It  is  Fairyland  and  Wonderland,  and  a  play- 
ground, so  strangely  beautiful  that  the  world  has  not 
its  equal,  and  every  "good  "  American  should  go 
there  this  summer  instead  of  pouring  more  money 
into  the  worn-out  show  places  of   Europe. 

WONDERLAND 

It  is  probable  that  John  Colter,  a  member  of  the 
Lewis  and  Clark  expedition,  was  the  first  white  man 
to  pass  through  this  Wonderland,  in   1807;   in   1871, 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK 

Hayden  and  a  corps  of  United  States  Engineers 
explored  the  region,  and  upon  their  report  of  its  mar- 
vels, in  1872,  Congress  withdrew  from  the  public 
domain  an  area  of  3,344  square  miles,  a  tract 
55  by  65  miles,  dedicating  and  setting  it  apart  as 
a  "put)lic  park  or  pleasure-ground  for  the  benefit 
and  enjoyment  of  the  people." 

And  a  pleasure-ground  it  is  and  ever  will  be. 
Around  it  are  mountain  ranges  with  peaks  14,000 
feet  high,  and  within  it  are  exhibitions  of  Nature's 
freaks  and  moods  such  as  no  other  land  contains  and 
no  pen  or  tongue  can  fitly  describe.  The  average 
elevation  of  the  Park  is  8,000  feet  above  sea  level. 

Here,  amid  the  grandeur  of  Alpine  scenery,  tinted 
and  splashed  with  colors  that  would  serve  the 
rainbow,  are  geysers  spouting,  at  precise  intervals, 
scalding  water  skyward;  terrace-building  fountains; 
pools  of  steaming  clay;  everlasting  springs  iced  in 
earth's  depths,  or  boiling  over  her  furnaces;  a  moun- 
tain of  glass;  the  lofty  forest-fringed  Yellowstone  Lake 
— Nature's  hand  mirror  for  the  clouds  and  peaks — 
romantic  vales  and  shaded  glens;  that  master  crea- 
tion, the  Grand  Canon  of  the  Yellowstone,  and 
almost  all  else  that  prodigal  creative  genius  could 
furnish  to  fill  the  land  with  wonders. 

The  Park  is  full  of  inns — "  they  happen  along 
at  the  end  of  each  day's  drive — roomy  structures 
full  of  comfort  and  good  cheer,  generous  lobbies 
and  old-fashioned  fire  places,  dainty  bed  rooms 
and  a  surprisingly  good  cuisine.  As  everybody 
knows  the    last    surviving    remnant  of    deer,  once 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK 

great  herds  of  game,  finds  a  safe  home  in  Geyserland 
— and  the  deer  and  bear  come  to  supper  every 
night  at  the   Inn!" 

THE  GEYSERS 

The  fame  of  this  mysterious,  one  might  almost 
say  truthfully  supernatural,  region  has  attracted 
men  of  science,  travelers,  and  pleasure  seekers 
from  all  over  Europe,  for  the  simple  reason  that 
there  is  nothing  like  it  elsewhere  in  the  world — 
nothing  half  so  wonderful  as  this  spot  where 
Nature  has  lavished  her  gifts  with  prodigal  hand — a 
charming  wilderness  of  w^ild  w^oodland,  crystal 
rivers,  gorgeous  canons,  and  sparkling  cascades* 
and,  above  and  beyond  all,  the  geysers,  those 
weird,  strange,  startling  nature  miracles.  And  yet, 
taken  as  a  w^hole,  the  scenery  of  the  Park  is  serene, 
restful,  satisfying,  for,  hemmed  in  by  the  solemn 
guard  of  mountain  sentinels  as  it  is,  there  is  a  soft- 
ness in  coloring  and  a  gentle  undulation  in  form 
which  mitigate  the  massive  sternness  of  the  forbid- 
ding peaks  and  walls  and  leaves  upon  this  play- 
ground that  tender  play  of  light  and  color  which  in 
the  Alps  they  call  the  "  afterglow."  But  the  fear- 
ful beauty  and  majesty  of  those  geysers  —  they 
must  be  seen  to  be  appreciated  and  once  seen  the 
memory  and  mystery  of  them  will  linger  to  the  end 
of  the  longest  life.  They  are  as  different  as  geysers 
can  be.  There  are  dead  geysers — dead  from  bursted 
throats  —  mere  broiling  pools  now  —  shaped  to 
resemble  a  variety  of  familiar  things,  with  depths 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

that  the  eye  can  not  sound,  and  colors^ — blues,  greens, 
purples,  reds  —  down  their  deep  sides  and  in  the 
wonderful  tracery  about  their  rims,  so  blended,  so 
beautiful  that  one  may  well  believe  that  all  the 
paints  on  the  pallette  of  the  Master  were  commingled 
in  their  decoration. 

One  blubbers  and  gurgles  and  grumbles  awhile, 
and  then,  with  an  angry  roar,  lifts  a  great  column  of 
mud  into  the  air.  Another  steams  and  growls 
through  an  orifice  hundreds  of  feet  wide  in  seem- 
ing angry  spite  that  years  ago  it  blew  out  its  throat 
and  ceased  to  gush  forever — but  the  geysers  that 
most  attract  are  the  regular-timed  spouting  wonders — 
the  Giant  and  Giantess,  Old  Faithful,  the  Grand,  the 
Fountain,  the  Castle  and  others  whose  names  mark 
the  geography  of  the  Park 

GEYSER  SOURCES 

A  brief  scientific  excursion  may  be  beneficial — 
Just  to  act  as  a  curb  on  poetic  flights. 

Early  in  the  last  century  the  attention  of  scien- 
tific men  was  attracted  to  Iceland  by  stories  of  the 
wonderful  fountains  of  steam  and  hot  water  found  in 
that  country,  and  such  was  the  interest  which  these 
unique  curiosities  of  Nature  aroused  throughout 
Europe  that  several  expeditions  were  sent  to  Iceland 
to  study  the  phenomena.  To  these  fountains  the 
Icelanders  gave  the  name  of  geysers,  the  term  being 
derived  from  the  verb  geysa,  signifying  "to  gush." 

A  geyser  may  be  defined  as  a  hot  spring  which 
intermittently  ejects  a  column  of  boiling  water  and 

124 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL   PARK 

steam.  However,  no  sharp  line  of  distinction  can  be 
drawn,  since  in  all  geyser  regions  there  is  every  grada- 
tion, from  the  quiet  pool  of  warm  water  to  a  boiling, 
steaming  spring  which  is  intermittently  agitated,  and 
from  the  latter  to  a  full-fledged  spouting  geyser. 

In  looking  at  the  distribution  of  geysers  in  various 
parts  of  the  world  one  is  quickly  impressed  with  their 
great  rarity.  Hot  springs  abound  in  many  countries, 
but  boiling  springs  are  characteristic  only  of  regions 
of  recent  (that  is  geologically  recent)  volcanic 
activity;  it  is  only  in  such  regions  that  geysers 
occur.  Until  late  in  the  last  century  Iceland  was  the 
only  land  where  geysers  had  been  found.  Less  than 
sixty  years  ago  they  were  discovered  in  considerable 
numbers  in  New  Zealand,  and  since  then  a  few 
others  have  been  reported  from  other  parts  of  the 
world.  The  Geyserland  of  the  world  is  undoubtedly, 
however,  the  Yellowstone  National  Park. 

Walter  Harvey  Weed  of  the  United  States 
Geological  Survey,  in  an  interesting  paper  on 
geysers,  says: 

"What  is  the  source  and  character  of  the  geyser 
waters?  It  has  been  plainly  indicated  that,  in  the 
fields  described,  the  vents  are  always  situated  along 
lines  of  drainage,  on  the  shores  of  lakes,  or  under 
conditions  where  ordinary  springs  of  meteoric  water 
would  naturally  occur. 

"That  the  geyser  waters  are  surface  waters  which 
have  percolated  through  the  porous  lavas,  and  have 
been  heated  by  encountering  great  quantities  of 
steam  and  gases   rising   from   the   hot   rocks    below, 


Old  Faithful  Geyser,  Yellowstone  National  Park 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK 

there  is  no  reasonable  doubt.  The  proximity  of 
ordinary  cold  springs  and  those  of  boiling  hot  water 
lends  support  to  this  view. 

"These  hot  waters,  traversing  the  rocks  in  irregular 
fissures,  readily  dissolve  out  the  more  soluble  constit- 
uents of  the  rocks,  the  amount  and  the  character  of 
the  salts  present  varying  somewhat  with  the  nature 
and  amount  of  gases  held  in  the  waters.  Chemical 
analyses  of  geyser  waters  from  the  three  regions  des- 
cribed show  no  greater  variation  than  those  from 
different  vents  in  any  one  of  these  regions. 

SOURCE  OF  HEAT 

"That  the  source  of  the  steam  is  the  still  hot  lavas 
below,  and  is  in  some  way  connected  with  volcanic 
action,  is  so  evident  from  the  facts  that  no  other 
conclusion  is  possible. 

"In  the  Yellowstone  there  are  no  active  volcanoes, 
and  none  of  even  geologically  recent  activity.  The 
lavas  that  fill  the  ancient  mountain-encircled  basin 
of  the  Park  are  scored  by  glaciers  and  deeply  cut  by 
running  water,  and  the  old  volcanoes  from  which 
the  lavas  were,  in  part  at  least,  outpoured,  show  no 
signs  of  having  been  active  since  Tertiary  times. 
Yet,  in  this  region,  the  expenditure  of  heat  by  the  hot 
springs,  geysers,  and  steam  vents  would  undoubtedly 
keep  a  moderate-sized  volcano  in  a  very  active  state, 
if  concentrated. 

THEORIES  OF  GEYSER  ACTION 

"The  intermittent  spouting  of  geysers  was  long  a 
riddle  to  scientific  men,  for  although  several  theories 

127 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

seemed  each  to  offer  a  satisfactory  explanation  of 
the  eruptions  of  Geyser,  they  supposed  conditions 
unlikely  to  occur  in  many  vents.  The  investiga- 
tions of  Bunsen,  and  of  Descloizeaux,  who  spent 
two  weeks  studying  the  Iceland  fountains,  resulted 
in  the  announcement  of  a  theory  of  geyser  action 
which,  with  slight  modifications,  has  satisfied  all 
requirements,  and  is  today  generally  accepted  as 
the  true  explanation  of  the  action  of  these  natural 
steam  engines.  This  theory,  which  bears  the  name 
of  the  illustrious  Bunsen,  depends  on  the  well-known 
fact  that  the  boiling  point  of  water  increases  with 
the  pressure  and  is,  therefore,  higher  at  the  bottom  of 
a  tube  of  water  than  at  the  surface.  The  temperature 
of  water  heated  in  any  vessel  is  generally  equalized 
by  convective  currents,  but  in  a  long  and  narrow  or  an 
irregular  tube  this  circulation  is  impeded,  and  while 
the  water  at  the  surface  boils  at  1 00  degrees  centigrade 
(at  sea  level),  ebullition  in  the  lower  part  of  the  tube 
is  only  possible  at  a  much  higher  temperature, 
owing  to  the  weight  of  the  water  column  above  it. 
"The  life  history  of  a  geyser  varies,  of  course,  for 
each  one,  but  observations  show  that  the  following 
sequence  of  events  often  takes  place.  The  hot 
vapors  rising  from  unknown  depths  penetrate  the 
rocks  along  planes  of  fracture  and  shrinking  cracks, 
decomposing  and  softening  the  rock  until  the 
pressure  of  the  steam  and  water  is  sufficient  to  force 
an  opening  to  the  surface.  If  this  opening  affords 
an  easier  exit  for  waters  issuing  at  a  higher  level,  the 
fissure  is  probably  opened  with  a  violent  ejection  of 

128 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK 

mud  and  debris ;  more  often  the  process  is  a  gradual 
one,  accompanying  the  slow  eating  away  of  the  rock 
walls  along  the  fissure.  The  flow^ing  waters  slowly 
clear  out  the  fissure,  forming  a  tube  that  permits  the 
freer  escape  of  hot  water  and  steam,  while  at  the 
same  time  the  waters  change  from  a  thick  mud  to  a 
more  or  less  clear  fluid.  The  spring,  at  first  a  simple 
boiling  mud  hole,  is  now  an  intermittently  boiling 
spring,  which  soon  develops  true  geyser  action.  If 
the  opening  of  the  fissure  affords  a  new  outlet  for 
the  waters  of  some  already  existing  geyser,  these 
changes  take  place  rapidly,  and  eruptions  begin  as 
soon  as  the  pipe  is  sufficiently  cleared  to  hold  enough 
water.  The  bare  rock  about  the  vent  or  fissure  is 
soon  whitened  by  silica  deposited  by  the  hot  waters. 
The  sinter  may  form  a  mound  about  the  expanded 
tube  or  basin,  or,  if  the  vent  be  small  and  spray  is 
frequently  ejected,  it  builds  up  the  curious  geyser 
cones  so  prominent  in  the  Yellowstone.  In  certain 
cases  the  building  up  of  these  deposits  may  partially 
choke  the  geysers  throat,  and  cause  a  diminution 
of  the  geyser's  energy,  whose  forces  seek  an  easier 
outlet.  In  other  cases,  the  eating  out  of  new  subter- 
ranean waterways  deprives  the  geyser  of  its  supply 
of  heat,  and  the  vent  becomes  either  a  tranquil  lake 
or  wholly  extinct,  while  the  pearly  geyserite  forming 
its  cone  disintegrates  and  crumbles  into  fine,  shaly 
debris,  resembling  comminuted  oyster  shells.  Thus 
there  is  a  slow  but  continual  change  in  progress  at 
the  geyser  basins,  in  which  old  springs  become 
extinct  and  new  ones  come  into  being  and  activity. 

129 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

"The  interval  between  eruptions  is  manifestly 
dependent  upon  the  two  factors  of  heat  and  water 
supply — variations  in  either  or  in  both  affecting  the 
geyser  period.  It  rarely  happens  that  these  factors 
are  so  constant  that  the  geyser  has  a  definite  period. 
Even  in  the  case  of  Old  Faithful,  the  most  reliable  of 
all  geysers,  there  are  very  considerable  variations  in 
the  period,  though  the  average  is  always  constant 
from  day  to  day." 

SOAPING  GEYSERS 

Arnold  Hogue,  the  well  known  geologist,  says: 
"Thermometers  plunged  into  the  basins  show 
slightly  varying  temperatures,  dependent  upon  their 
position  in  the  basin.  They  indicate  the  existence 
of  numerous  currents,  and  a  very  unstable  equilib- 
rium of  the  heated  waters,  which  are  liable,  under 
slight  changes,  to  burst  forth  with  more  or  less 
violence.  It  is  under  these  conditions  that  geyser 
action  can  be  accelerated  by  artificial  means.  If, 
into  one  of  these  superheated  basins,  a  handful  of 
sinter  pebbles  be  thrown,  or  the  surface  of  the 
water  be  agitated  by  the  rapid  motion  of  a  stick  or 
cane,  or  even  by  lashing  with  a  rope,  a  liberation  of 
steam  ensues.  This  is  liable  to  be  followed  by  a 
long  boiling  of  the  water  in  the  pool,  which  in  turn 
may  lead  to  geyser-action.  There  is  some  reason  to 
believe  that,  at  least  in  one  instance,  an  eruption  has 
been  brought  about  by  a  violent  but  temporary  gust 
of  wind,  which  either  ruffled  the  water  or  disturbed 

130 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK 

the  equilibrium  of  the  pool,  and  changed  momentarily 
the  atmospheric  pressure. 

"If  soap  or  lye  is  thrown  into  most  of  the  small 
pools,  a  viscous  fluid  is  formed;  and  viscosity  is,  I 
think,  the  principal  cause  in  hastening  geyser-action. 
Viscosity  must  tend  to  the  retention  of  steam  within 
the  basin,  and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  superheated 
waters,  w^here  the  temperature  stands  at  or  above  the 
boiling-point,  explosive  liberation  must  follow.  All 
alkaline  solutions,  whether  in  the  laboratory  or  in 
Nature,  exhibit,  by  reason  of  this  viscosity,  a  tendency 
to  bump  and  boil  irregularly.  Viscosity  in  these  hot 
springs  must  also  tend  to  the  formation  of  bubbles 
and  foam  when  the  steam  rises  to  the  surface,  and 
this  in  turn  aids  to  bring  about  the  explosive  action, 
followed  by  a  relief  of  pressure,  and  thus  to  hasten 
the  final  and  more  powerful  display." 

THE  GRAND  CANON 

A  gash  in  the  earth  10  miles  long  and  1,200  feet 
deep;  its  awful  depths  stirred  by  the  music  of  the 
rushing  river;  its  great  falls  roaring  and  whispering 
every  sound  described  in  the  swinging  old  rhyme, 
"The  Way  the  Waters  Come  Down  at  Ladore ;"  its 
painted  walls,  lurid  with  every  tint  from  the  pallette 
of  the  Master,  and  all  the  blended  colors  of  all  the 
paint  pots  ever  mixed  by  mortal  or  immortal  hands  ; 
its  shadows,  somber  and  gray ;  its  sun-gilded  pinna- 
cles— who  shall  describe  that  ? 

What  an  awful,  what  a  majestic,  what  an  incom- 
parable wonder  it  is !     To  see  its  cliffs  of  volcanic 

131 


Yellowstone  Falls,  showing  Red  Rock,  Yellowstone  National  Park 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK 

glass,  its  gleaming  water  effects,  its  mountains  of 
petrifactions,  its  hills  of  brimstone,  its  perpetually 
snow-crowned  peaks,  is  to  gaze  on  a  spectacle  of 
beauty  and  grandeur  such  as  the  world  elsewhere 
can  not  produce. 

THE  FALLS 

The  canon  and  falls  of  the  Yellowstone  beggar 
description.  They  are  twin  wonders  in  a  Wonder- 
land. 

Is  there  any  other  gorge  as  gorgeous  as  that 
caiion — with  such  gaiety  of  coloring,  with  such 
delicate  and  lovely  shades  of  yellows  and  reds, 
purples  and  pinks,  greens  and  crimsons,  all  com- 
mingling in  harmony  from  the  green-fringed  brink, 
dow^n,  dow^n  the  craggy  sides  into  somber  depths 
where  the  writhing,  gleaming  ribbon  of  river 
thousands  of  feet  below,  plunges  along  on  its 
winding  w^ay  to  the   sea  ? 

And  the  falls  —  the  drapery  of  the  canon,  the 
two  silvery  curtains  that  hang  at  its  head  —  a  great 
river  pouring  over  a  precipice  and  falling  in  glassy 
sheets  hundreds  of  feet,  then  ruffling  and  flouncing 
and  festooning  until  lost  in  the  rainbow-hued  mist 
at  the  foot  of  chasm. 

See  all  this  as  thousands  have  and  thousands 
will  from  Inspiration  Point,  a  rocky  balcony  over 
the  gorge,  with  the  eagles'  nests  below  you,  or 
from  Artists'  Point  on  the  other  side,  where 
Moran  transferred  the  glories  of  canon  and  falls 
to   canvas ;    or  see   it   from  any  of   the  other  places 

^^3 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

where  tourists  love  to  linger  and  look,  and  you  will 
see  the  most  tremendous,  stupendous,  alluring  and 
altogether  splendid  spectacle  that  Nature  ever 
spread  out  for  the  w^onder,  amazement,  and  delight 
of  mortal  eyes. 


Excelsior  Geyser,  Yellowstone  National  Park 


134 


FOUR   GREAT   ACHIEVEMENTS 

As  a  general  proposition  a  railroad  is  supposed 
to  be  built,  from  initial  point  to  terminus,  in  as 
straight  a  line  as  possible — an  air  line  or  "as  the 
crow  flies" — and  for  obvious  reasons.  In  the  early 
days  of  the  Union  Pacific  there  was  more  than 
one  "editorial  railroad  builder"  who  knew  more 
about  the  crooked  track  of  the  road  than  its  chief 
engineer.  Montgomery  Schuyler,  in  his  breezy 
book  "Out  West,"  has  stated  the  case  emphatically 
and  explicitly: 

"It  is  pleasant  to  know  that  the  builders  of  the 
Union  Pacific  were  by  no  means  so  black  as  they 
have  been  painted.  Congressional  investigation, 
instigated  by  a  press  which  it  must  be  owned  has 
not  in  all  the  world  its  equal  in  a  scent  for  scandal, 
has  done  a  good  deal  of  blackening.  But  the 
Oakes  Ames  monument,  which  it  seems  we  passed 
in  the  night,  well  deserves  salutation.  One  ancient 
scandal,  that  the  road  was  bent  and  even  zigzagged, 
to  draw  large  subsidies  per  mile  where  construc- 
tion was  easy,  has  lately  been  effectually  dispelled. 
The  Union  Pacific  has  undertaken,  with  its  modern 
appliances  and  its  modern  affluence  of  means,  to 
straighten  its  road  and  ease  its  curves  and  its 
grades  all  along  the  line.  Such  things  are  neces- 
sary and  inevitable,  of  course,  in  the  country  in 
which  the  railroad  is  the  pioneer  road,  and  better- 
ments are  left  to  be  paid  for  out  of  earnings. 
Well,  the  fact  is  that  the  modern  engineers   with 

135 


-ii^-ii^ 


^"V 


FOUR  GREAT  ACHIEVEMENTS 

their  new  lights  and  their  new  means  have  man- 
aged in  this  country  here  to  save  just  four  miles 
in  four  hundred  over  the  engineers  of  the  sixties, 
a  fact  which  ought  to  excite  much  blushing  in 
many  editorial  rooms.'* 

But  Mr.  Schuyler's  statement  does  not  convey 
the  whole  truth. 

When  the  old  Union  Pacific  was  built  the  dis- 
tance from  Omaha  to  Ogden  over  its  tracks  was 
1,042  miles;  w^hen  the  Harriman  improvements  w^ere 
completed  the  distance  was  1,000.  The  Sherman 
Hill  line  increased  the  distance  three  miles;  but 
the  other  changes  reduced  it,  leaving  the  net 
reduction  forty-two  miles. 

It  required  a  superior  skill  in  engineering  to 
cut  off  these  forty-two  miles.  The  original  engi- 
neers had  done  their  work  so  well  that  it  took 
thirty-five  years  to  find  a  way  to  reduce  the  dis- 
tance, and  the  best  engineers  of  the  world  have 
admitted  long  ago,  and  events  have  justified  their 
admission,  that  it  will  not  ever  be  possible  to  find 
a  way  to  improve  on  the  route.  The  line  they  ran 
was  the  best,  that  could  be  run.  Mr.  Harriman 
himself,  in  an  address  before  the  Omaha  Field 
Club,  paid  a  stout  tribute  to  these  old  pioneer 
engineers  when  he  said: 

"After  all  these  years  of  experimenting  and 
investigating  it  has  been  found  impossible  to  run 
a  more  direct  general  line  of  survey  from  Omaha 
to  Ogden  than  the  original  engineers  of  the  Union 
Pacific  drew.    Their  work  can  not  be  improved  on." 

137 


FOUR  GREAT  ACHIEVEMENTS 

The  four  greatest  achievements  of  the  new 
Union  Pacific  are  these: 

Sherman  Hill  tunnel,  1,800  feet  through  solid 
granite,  and  the  Sherman  Hill  line  158  miles  long, 
costing  approximately  $6,000,000. 

Aspen  tunnel,  5,900  feet  long,  and  Aspen  cut- 
off, twenty-two  miles  long,  the  two,  with  other 
western  cut-offs,  saving  thirty  miles  in  distance, 
costing  approximately  $12,000,000. 

The  Great  Salt  Lake  cut-off  across  Great  Salt 
Lake,  102.5  miles  long,  cutting  off  forty-three  miles 
of  the  distance  between  Ogden  and  San  Francisco, 
costing  $6,000,000. 

The  Lane  cut-off,  eleven  miles  long,  saving 
nine  and  one-half  miles,  costing  $3,000,000. 

LANE  CUT-OFF 

The  construction  of  the  Lane  cut-off,  a  few 
miles  west  of  Omaha,  did  not  penetrate  any  gran- 
ite mountains,  nor  involve  any  deep  and  lengthy 
tunnels,  but  it  did  involve  some  tremendous  fills 
and  cuts  and  accomplished  a  purpose  of  immense 
importance.  But  the  most  remarkable  feature  of  it 
is  that  it  cuts  off  in  distance  nearly  as  much  as  its 
actual  length  and,  though  11.64  miles  long,  it  cost 
$3,000,000.  To  be  exact,  it  saved  8.94  miles  on 
a  distance  of  20.58  miles  between  connecting 
points  on  the  old  main  line. 

The  excavation  of  this  cut-off  was  entirely  in 
earth.     It  involved  the  removal  of  nearly  3,500,000 

139 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

cubic  yards  of  dirt.  Every  particle  of  this 
dirt  was  utilized  in  the  formation  of  embank- 
ments and  about  4,000,000  cubic  yards  of  these 
embankments  were  built.  They  were  necessary 
to  form  crossings  over  the  deep,  w^ide  valleys. 
The  roadway  proper  in  excavation  has  one  and 
one-half  to  one  side  slopes  and  a  maximum  w^idth 
of  thirty  feet;  the  embankments  have  a  minimum 
width  of  thirty-five  feet  and  one  and  one-half  to 
one  side  slopes.  The  tracks,  like  others  of  the 
Union  Pacific,  are  laid  with  ninety-pound  steel 
rails  on  tie  plates,  with  treated  ties  of  Oregon  and 
southern  pine. 

To  give  some  idea  of  the  herculean  task  con- 
fronting the  builders  of  this  cut-off  it  is  well  to 
note  that  at  one  place  there  is  a  cut  with  a  depth 
of  85.5  feet,  a  width  of  437  feet,  and  a  total 
length  of   5,200  feet. 

SHERMAN  HILL 

Sherman  Hill  and  Dale  Creek  bridge — those 
were  names  to  conjure  w^ith  in  the  days  of  the  old 
Union  Pacific.  But  those  landmarks  of  a  frontier 
railroad  are  gone.  Yesterday  you  were  dragged 
with  nerve-racking  anxiety  over  a  bridge  600  feet 
long  and  135  feet  high.  Today  you  glide  smoothly 
over  embankments  which  experts  pronounce  the 
most  remarkable  in  the  world.  The  roadbed  is  as 
solid  as  rock  and  as  smooth  as  a  floor.  You  pass 
over    Sherman   Hill    with    the    same    easy    comfort 

140 


FOUR  GREAT  ACHIEVEMENTS 

that  you  skirt  the  level,  sweeping  prairies  of 
Nebraska.  Instead  of  mounting  the  summit  of 
that  granite-ribbed  spur  of  the  Black  Hills,  you 
pass  through  a  cut  236  feet  lower  than  the  summit 
of  the  old  line.  West  of  Dale  Creek,  through  a  spur 
of  the  same  mountain,  you  pass  through  a  tunnel 
1,800  feet  long,  bored  through  solid  granite,  of 
which  Sherman  Hill  was  the  backbone. 

Lifting  huge  locomotives  and  trains  over  high 
hills  and  mountains  at  immense  cost  for  fuel  and 
power  struck  Harriman,  the  hard-headed  Yankee, 
as  an  impractical  and  useless  proposition.  It 
aroused  his  spirit  of  conquest  and  drove  him  to 
these  marvelous  feats  of  engineering,  and  his  first 
was  Sherman  Hill.  It  was  found  necessary  to 
shoot  a  tunnel  through  Sherman  Hill,  solid  gran- 
ite, 1,800  feet  long  and  of  ample  dimensions  for 
the  largest  load  to  pass  through.  Precautions  were 
taken  to  reduce  the  grade  through  the  tunnel,  thus 
avoiding  inconvenience  from  smoke  or  foul  air  and 
insuring  comfort  to  the  travelers. 

To  get  an  idea  of  the  immensity  of  the  work, 
understand  first  that  Dale  Creek  fill  is  900  feet 
long,  120  feet  high  and  that  500,000  cubic  yards 
of  Sherman  gravel  was  used  in  constructing  the 
embankment;  that  the  crossing  of  Lone  Tree 
Creek  is  about  800  feet  long,  125  feet  high,  with 
290,000  cubic  yards  of  fill  in  the  embankment. 

This  Sherman  Hill  line  crosses  the  Rocky 
Mountains  at  a  summit  237  feet  lower  than  the 
old   crossing,    thus    making    the    highest    elevation 

I4I" 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

reached   by   the    Union    Pacific   8,010    feet    above 
sea  level,  instead  of  8,247  feet  as  formerly. 

ASPEN  TUNNEL 

Aspen  tunnel  or  cut-off  was  the  largest  single 
piece  of  work  ever  undertaken  by  the  Union 
Pacific  up  to  that  time  and  it  has  been  surpassed 
in  magnitude  and  prodigious  technique  only  by 
the  Great  Salt  Lake  cut-off,  completed  several 
years  later. 

Aspen  cut-off  was  begun  November  13,  1899, 
and  completed  November  15,  1901,  while  the  Great 
Salt  Lake  cut-off  was  completed  and  dedicated  in 
November,  1903,  after  more  than  two  years  of  the 
most  arduous  toil  railroad  builders  ever  exerted. 

Aspen  tunnel  extends  from  Leroy  to  Bear  River, 
Wyoming.  It  avoids  the  great  Tapioca  Hill  which 
was  a  difficult  piece  of  track  to  operate,  espe- 
cially in  winter.  It  penetrates  Aspen  Ridge,  one  of 
the  eastern  foothills  of  the  Wahsatch  Range,  and  is 
5,900  feet  in  length.  The  construction  of  the 
tunnel  was  of  particular  interest  in  the  railroad 
world  because  of  the  peculiar  character  of  earth 
encountered  and  large  quantities  of  water.  To 
hasten  work  of  construction,  a  central  shaft  was 
sunk,  the  top  of  which  was  331  feet  above  grade. 
From  the  bottom  of  this  the  work  was  prosecuted 
east  and  west.  The  greatest  depth  below  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth  is  456  feet  and  the  highest  point 
above   sea   level   is  7,296   feet.       The   tunnel  was 

142 


FOUR  GREAT  ACHIEVEMENTS 

finished  for  a  single  track  and  lined  with  timber 
and  concrete,  making  it  one  of  the  most  perfect 
pieces  of  work  on  the  continent. 

This  cut-off,  like  all  others  of  the  Union  Pacific, 
conserves  the  one  basic  purpose  of  the  recon- 
struction— elimination  of  curves  and  reduction  of 
grades  as  much  as  possible.  On  this  Aspen  cut-off 
there  is  no  grade  greater  than  forty-three  feet  per 
mile  and  no  curve  of  more  than  3  degrees  and 
36  minutes.  The  grade  through  the  tunnel  is 
twenty-one  feet  per  mile.  This  tunnel  is  electric- 
lighted  and  ventilated  upon  the  most  modern 
basis.  The  Aspen  cut-off  and  tunnel  together 
make  a  line  of  track  twenty-two  miles  in  length 
and  cut  off  ten  miles  from  the  distance  of  the 
original  route.    . 

MATCHLESS  FEAT  IN  GREAT  SALT  LAKE  CUT-OFF 

And  now  we  come  to  the  matchless  Great  Salt 
Lake  cut-off.  All  of  these  other  enterprises  are 
great  and  are  serving  great  purposes,  but  for 
boldness  of  conception  and  skill  of  execution  it 
has  been  seriously  questioned  if  they  or  any 
other  similar  achievements  in  the  line  of  railroad 
building  can  half  compare  with  this  piece  of  work. 
It  is  the  embodiment  of  the  intrepid  Harriman 
spirit. 

The  Great  Salt  Lake  cut-off  is  a  line  of  track 
crossing  Great  Salt  Lake  at  its  deepest  portion.  It 
is    102.5    miles    in    length    and    saves    in    distance 

143 


FOUR  GREAT  ACHIEVEMENTS 

forty-three  miles.  But  this  saving  in  distance  is  a 
small  matter  as  compared  to  the  saving  in  motive 
power  and  cost  of  operation.  It  avoids  Prom- 
ontory Hill,  the  highest  point  on  the  line  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad  until  you  reach  the  sum- 
mit of   the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  in  California. 

This  evasion  of  Promontory  Hill  means  sim- 
ply that  engines  and  trains,  with  their  thousands 
of  tons  of  weight,  no  longer  have  to  be  lifted  to 
the  elevation  of  approximately  7,000  feet. 

This  cut-off  leaves  the  main  line  at  Ogden  and 
darts  across  Great  Salt  Lake,  striking  Lucin,  its  west- 
ern terminus,  102.5  miles  away,  making  almost  a  bee 
line.  Between  Ogden  and  the  lake  it  traverses  a 
level  strip  of  country  for  fourteen  and  a  half  miles. 
In  this  distance  the  line  crosses  Weber  River  twice 
and  makes  three  short  curves.  In  all,  the  line  is 
composed  of  seventy-two  miles  on  land  and 
twenty-nine  and  a  half  of  trestle  on  water.  Twelve 
miles  and  600  feet  of  this  trestle  is  permanent; 
the  remainder  filled  with  material  from  Little 
Mountain,  on  Promontory  Point. 

Across  Promontory  Point,  a  distance  of  five 
miles,  the  line  skirts  along  on  land.  An  almost 
insuperable  obstacle  encountered  by  the  builders 
was  a  rock  3,000  feet  in  length  and  averaging 
twenty  feet  in  depth.  It  was  necessary  to  cut 
directly  through  this  rock. 

Some  of  the  best  engineers  in  the  world  pro- 
nounced this  cut-off  impracticable.  Mr.  Harriman 
himself   had  to  be  won  over  to  the  scheme  before 

145 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

he  would  adopt  it.  When  he  came  into  possession 
of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  superseding  Collis 
P.  Huntington,  he  determined,  as  Mr.  Huntington 
had  determined  before  him,  that  some  other  line 
should  be  built  so  as  to  avoid  Promontory  Hill. 
But  Mr.  Harriman  believed  the  solution  of  the 
problem  was  to  run  a  line  around  the  southern  end 
of  the  lake. 

Chief  Engineer  Hood  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
has  been  credited  with  the  original  idea  of  a  cut-off 
across  Salt  Lake.  Mr.  Hood  presented  the  scheme 
to  Julius  Kruttschnitt,  who  became  Mr.  Harriman's 
right-hand  man  w^hen  he  took  control  of  the  prop- 
erty. Mr.  Kruttschnitt  was  soon  converted  and 
he,  in  turn,  after  considerable  time,  converted 
Mr.  Harriman  to  the  cause  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake 
cut-off. 

Those  men,  however,  who  felt  that  the  under- 
taking w^as  not  feasible  because  of  its  excessive 
hazard,  had  some  grounds,  as  events  disclosed,  for 
their  view^s.  While  the  construction  work  was  in 
progress,  at  least  one  solid  construction  train  was 
swallowed  up  and  completely  lost  in  the  quagmire 
of  the  lake.  Engine,  cars,  and  their  load  of  ballast 
brought  from  Bear  Mountain,  together  with  the 
trainmen,  went  down.  Another  illustration  of  the 
peril  of  this  undertaking  was  shown  when  they 
began  to  drive  their  piles.  One  pile  on  top  of 
another  was  driven  before  any  apparent  founda- 
tion was  struck.  Expert  engineers  did  not  pretend 
to  say  how  deep  this  quagmire    was  and   for  some 

146 


FOUR  GREAT  ACHIEVEMENTS 

time  there  was  serious  question  if  the  undertaking 
would  not,  after  all,  have  to  be  abandoned.  Even 
after  the  cut-off  was  completed  and  in  operation  it 
sank  to  an  appreciable  degree  and  train  service  was 
temporarily  abandoned  w^hile  more  ballast  was 
thrown  in  and  also  to  give  time  for  the  settlement 
process. 

But  no  accidents  have  occurred  on  the  cut-off 
since  it  was  placed  permanently  in  operation  and 
today  it  is  regarded  as  just  as  safe  as  any  other  por- 
tion of  track.  Its  champions  have  been  vindicated 
and  it  has  come  to  be  known  as  one  of  the  great 
scenes  along  the  sinuous  trail  of  this  master  trans- 
continental line  and  one  of  the  unique  features  of 
American  railroading.  It  saves  millions  to  its 
ow^ners. 

Part  of  the  line  on  this  cut-off  is  single,  but  most 
of  it  is  double  tracked.  Technically  speaking,  the 
Great  Salt  Lake  cut-off  is  not  a  part  of  the  Union 
Pacific,  for  it  begins  where  the  Union  Pacific  ends, 
at  Ogden,  but  practically  it  is  a  part  of  the  Union 
Pacific,  for,  while  it  is  the  first  100  miles  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  tracks  on  the  eastern  end,  the 
Southern  Pacific  and  Union  Pacific  are  to  all  prac- 
tical purposes  of  travel  one  road,  stretching  from 
Omaha  to  California. 


147 


A  BIT  OF  WESTERN  MAGIC 

Your  eyes  having  been  securely  bandaged,  of 
course,  ears  closed,  and  every  precaution  taken  to 
obliterate  lyour  senses  for  the  time  being,  you  will 
please  step  upon  the  magic  carpet,  specially  imported 
by  the  Union  Pacific  for  this  occasion,  and,  presto! 
Be  pleased  to  look  around  you  when  your  eyes  are  a 
little  accustomed  to  this  clear  atmosphere.  Beautiful 
street,  isn't  it?  Thisrnansion  on  the  right  in  colonial 
style  of  architecture  must  mean  Virginia,  but  the  one 
across  the  street  is  built  upon  the  strictest  twentieth 
century  lines.  Remarkably  fine  avenue,  and  such 
lovely  shade  trees!  Smart  looking  affair,  that  big  auto- 
mobile, standing  in  front  of  the  next  house!  Neatly- 
kept  streets,  arc  lights,  shade  trees,  costly  homes — 
well,  this  must  be  Cleveland,  or  New  Haven,  or  any- 
where in  the  country  where  people  have  made  and  are 
making  their  money,  and  have  settled  down  to  enjoy  it. 

You  are  wrong,  brother.  This  is  a  far,  very  far. 
West  town,  one  of  the  "woolliest  and  wildest,"  and 
farthest  away  from  your  section  of  any  of  the 
towns  you  can  find  on  the  map — a  town  which  your 
fervid  imagination  has  often  dowered  with  the  stern- 
est, most  appalling  facts  of  Western  life — this  is 
Boise  City,  Idaho — Boise  the  Beautiful. 

There  were  3,000  people  here  in  1890  when  the 
State  was  admitted  and  Boise  made  the  capital; 
there  are  25,000  very  active,  energetic  citizens  here 
now — and  the  city  still  growing.  In  1862,  gold,  in 
quantities  hitherto  undreamed  of,  was  discovered  in 
southern    Idaho.     This   resulted  in   the  founding  of 

149 


A  BIT  OF  WESTERN  MAGIC 

Idaho  City,  which  in  two  years'  time  showed  a 
population  of  16,000  adult  males.  In  eight  years 
gold  to  the  value  of  $200,000,000  was  taken  from 
this  camp.  In  1863,  on  the  Boise  River,  the  govern- 
ment established  Fort  Boise,  and,  on  the  plain 
between  the  river  and  the  fort,  Boise  City  was  created. 

The  days  of  its  infancy  were  those  of  the  struggle 
and  uncertainty  that  attended  the  early  development 
of  all  young  settlements  in  a  new  land.  The 
fever  of  the  gold  rush  died  away,  and  many  a  mining 
settlement  was  blotted  out  entirely  or  shrunk  to  a 
w^an  semblance  of  its  former  prosperity.  Boise, 
however,  though  sharing  in  the  struggle,  early 
developed  a  sturdy  strength  independent  of  tran- 
sient circumstances.  Rapidly  she  waxed  and  grew, 
and  on  the  foundations  laid  in  toil  and  travail,  there 
is  now  building  a  city  of  strength  and  lustihood. 

Location  is  the  largest  factor  in  city  building,  and 
in  this  respect  Boise  is  supremely  fortunate.  First 
came  the  gold-seekers,  then  the  cowboys  and  then 
the  farmer  and  the  apple-grower;  the  whole  history 
of  Idaho  is  summed  up  in  the  one  word — irrigation — 
and  the  wonderful  record  of  that  miraculous  trans- 
formation is  elsewhere  written.  All  southern  Idaho 
is  tributary  to  Boise,  and  then  there  is  the  Boise 
Valley  where  the  unbelievable  apple  crops  grow. 
Her  position  is  unchallenged  and  supreme.  Scattered 
throughout  the  rapidly  developing  districts  are 
scores  of  flourishing  communities,  each  of  importance 
and  power  in  its  own  immediate  locality;  but  no  one 
attempts    to   vie   with    Boise   for   the   distinction   of 

151 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

leadership.  In  fact,  there  is  no  competition;  as  they 
grow  they  pay  economic  tribute  to  the  metropolis 
and  from  her  receive  aid  and  nourishment. 

A  curious  fact  comes  to  light  when  speaking  of 
location.  Boise  is  alw^ays  spoken  of  as  "in  the  moun- 
tains, "  and  yet  it  is  only  2,760  feet  above  sea  level. 
The  United  States  Weather  Observer  states  that 
the  mean  temperature  for  the  year  was  51 
degrees,  about  the  same  as  Springfield,  Illinois;  the 
average  January  in  Boise  is  3  degrees  cooler 
than  Springfield;  about  once  in  three  years  the  tem- 
perature goes  below  zero!  The  w^inter  mean  mini- 
mum temperature  is  about  the  same  as  Fredericks- 
burg, Virginia.  And  there  is  sunshine  all  the  time. 
If  the  thermometer  posts  high  figures  in  summer  you 
do  not  notice  it.  1  have,  myself,  driven  through 
the  Payette  Valley  when  the  mercury  showed  110 
and  did  not  feel  uncomfortable.  Nothing  like  the 
depression  resulting  from  90  above  at  the  Missouri 
River.    The  dry,  clear,  clean  air  holds  the  secret. 

These  people  spent  a  million  dollars  in  building 
last  year;  their  post  office  receipts  were  $76,000 
and  their  bank  clearings  amounted  to  $42,000,000. 
There  are  eighteen  wholesale  houses,  selling  many 
millions  a  year.  We  find  here  in  counterpart,  the 
well  built,  well  appointed  institutions  which  are 
common  in  the  older  States:  palatial  hotels,  spacious 
theaters,  federal  building,  assay  office,  public  library. 
Soldiers  Home  and,  greatest  of  all,  the  Natatorium, 
the  one  structure  that  occupies  a  position  of  peculiar 
importance  in  the  city. 

152 


A  BIT  OF  WESTERN  MAGIC 

The  Moorish  Building,  of  palatial  proportions,  con- 
tains the  second  largest  swimming  tank  in  the  world 
with  a  plunge  122  feet  long  and  300  feet  broad,  of 
graded  depth.  In  connection  are  300  dressing  rooms, 
parlors,  billiard  rooms,  banquet  and  ball  rooms, 
affording  all  the  facilities  of  the  finest  club  house, 
and  playing  no  small  part  in  the  social  life  of  the 
city.  The  Natatorium  is  fed  by  two  artesian  wells, 
which  flow  about  2,000  gallons  an  hour  of  mineral 
water  at  176  degrees  temperature.  This  water  is 
exceedingly  healthful  and  is  beneficial  in  the  case 
of  many  different  ailments.  It  is  also  used  through- 
out the  city  to  a  great  extent.  Many  residents  have 
it  in  their  homes,  where  it  is  used  for  bathing  and 
heating  purposes.  A  large  number  of  houses  are 
heated  by  this  means  alone. 

Standing  on  one  of  Boise's  principal  corners  a 
stranger  would  estimate  its  population  at  from  thirty- 
five  to  fifty  thousand.  Its  volume  of  business  would 
justify  that  figure.  The  business  houses  of  the  city 
are  structures  of  dignity  and  architectural  fitness. 
Its  streets  are  excellently  paved  and  lighted.  The 
whole  atmosphere  is  that  of  prosperity  and  municipal 
health.  In  the  residence  section  the  eye  is  charmed 
by  block  after  block  of  beautiful  dwellings,  ranging 
from  the  palatial  residence  of  the  man  of  wealth,  to 
the  no  less  attractive  cottage  of  the  wage  earner. 

The  loyal,  justly-proud  men  of  Boise  proclaim 
with  one  voice,  "It's  the  biggest  little  city  on  the 
map!"     And  so  it  is. 


153 


SHOSHONE.THE  WESTERN  NIAGARA 

Any  one  of  the  approaches  to  the  Niagara  of  the 
West  can  not,  even  by  whatsoever  distortion  of  fancy, 
be  called  picturesque.  The  beaten  way  thither 
from  Pocatello,  either  by  Shoshone  Station  or  via 
Minidoka  and  Twin  Falls,  lies  over  one  of  those 
void  "waste  tracts,"  which  we  have  talked  about 
elsewhere — a  genuine  bit  of  the  "desert."  It  is  a 
sagebrush  and  lava  proposition  in  full  bloom.  And 
right  here  in  the  very  heart  of  desolation  springs  the 
Minidoka  irrigation  project  whereby  300,000  acres 
of  "desert  *  will  be  made  over  into  a  garden.  Thou- 
sands of  apple  trees  have  already  been  planted  on 
this  tract.  The  fifty  miles  on  the  Oregon  Short  Line 
from  Minidoka  to  Twin  Falls  is  already  dotted  with 
farms  carved  out  of  the  somber  nakedness  of  this 
lava  bed. 

It  is  7  miles  from  Twin  Falls  over  to  Shoshone 
Falls  by  stage.  Clifton  Johnson,  author  and 
artist,  records  his  experiences  in  1908:  "As  it 
was  only  7  miles  1  decided  to  walk.  The  route 
was  not  very  direct,  for  1  had  to  follow  the  right- 
angled  roads  with  which  the  country  has  been  laid 
off.  An  uneasy  wind  blew,  and  every  now  and  then 
a  rotary  current  would  start  and  catch  up  a  flurry  of 
dust.  Sometimes  the  dust  would  rise  in  a  vague 
brown  column  hundreds  of  feet  high,  and  1  had  fre- 
quently several  of  these  wandering  columns  in  sight 
at  the  same  time.  Far  off  on  the  horizon,  dim  with 
silvery  haze,  were  ranges  of  mountains  and  two  or 

155 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

three  peaks  white  with  snow.  The  heat  shimmered 
over  the  plain,  and  the  glare  of  the  sun  was  a  pain 
to  the  eyes. 

"The  settlers  were  busy  taming  the  land  by  tear- 
ing out  and  burning  the  sagebrush,  and  by  ploughing 
and  harrowing  and  scraping  their  holdings  into  a 
smooth  grade  for  irrigating.  Some  of  the  crops  w^ere 
in  the  ground.  There  was  new  wheat  pricking  up 
out  of  the  soil,  and  there  was  alfalfa,  started  the  year 
before,  now  forming  a  dark  green  sod. 

"From  any  rising  bit  of  ground  on  my  walk  I  could 
see  to  the  north  a  dark  irregular  rift  in  the  sagebrush 
barren,  and  I  knew  there  flowed  the  Snake  River. 
The  rift  looked  ominous,  yet  by  no  means  of  impos- 
ing proportions,  and  I  concluded  that  any  falls  it 
might  contain  would  be  a  disappointment.  At  last 
I  left  the  farm  lands  behind,  and  the  road  became  a 
narrow^  trail  winding  along  through  a  strewing  of  lava 
blocks.  Then  1  came  to  the  verge  of  the  canon* 
w^hich  seemed  to  have  expanded  as  if  by  magic  to  a 
width  of  a  mile,  and  which  yawned  over  eight  hun- 
dred feet  in  depth.  Far  dow^n  in  the  chasm  was  a 
great  foaming  waterfall.  I  had  come  from  the  hot, 
silent,  monotonous  prairie  wholly  unprepared  for  so 
magnificent  a  sight  or  for  the  thunder  of  waters  that 
sounded  in  my  ears.  The  gorge  itself  is  of  gloomy, 
volcanic  rock,  devoid  of  any  beauty  in  color,  but 
savagely  impressive  by  reason  of  its  size,  and  also 
because  its  columnar  and  grottoed  walls  and  vast  ter- 
races are  suggestive  of  the  planning  and  labor  of 
some  titanic  architect  and  builder. 

156 


SHOSHONE.  THE  WESTERN  NIAGARA 

"I  wandered  for  a  considerable  distance  along  the 
verge  of  the  monotonous  gorge  and  gazed  down  on 
the  misty  fall  from  the  scarp  of  many  a  projecting 
buttress,  some  of  which  dropped  away  almost  per- 
pendicularly to  the  dark  stream  at  the  bottom  of  the 
canon.  When  1,  at  length,  took  charge  of  a  ravine  to 
descend  to  lower  levels  1  found  the  setting  of  the 
falls  became  increasingly  attractive;  for  now  the  rock 
walls  and  black  crags  towered  far  above  and  made  a 
most  inspiring  spectacle.  The  river  itself  is  a  stream 
which  at  the  falls  flows  a  full  thousand  feet  wide. 
Immediately  above  the  leap  are  the  rapids  and  lesser 
falls,  while  big  boulders  and  various  islets  block  the 
way  and  add  to  the  wild  beauty.  The  vertical  final 
drop  is  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet,  and  as 
you  watch  the  great  white  tumult  of  water  going 
down  into  the  void  of  foam  and  flying  spray  below, 
you  can  not  help  thinking  of  Niagara.  The  latter  is 
not  so  high,  but  it  is  much  broader  and  carries  far  more 
water.  However,  the  Shoshone  Falls  exhibits  about  as 
much  width  and  power  as  the  mind  can  comprehend, 
and  its  environment  appeals  to  one  far  more  than 
does  the  commonplace  level  from  which  the  greater 
falls  makes  its  descent.  The  on-looker  feels  satisfied 
that  here  is  one  of  the  noblest  sights  on  this  con- 
tinent." 

Years  ago  Clarence  King,  one  of  the  early  comers 
and  at  that  time  with  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey,  was  a  delighted  visitor,  and  he  has  left  a 
vivvid  picture  of  the  great  cataract  which  is  worthy  of 
preservation.      Mr.  King  says: 

157 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

"The  three  great  falls  of  America,  Niagara, 
Shoshone,  and  Yosemite,  all  happily  bearing  Indian 
names,  are  as  characteristically  different  as  possible. 
7  here  seems  little  left  for  a  cataract  to  express.  A 
few  miles  in  front,  the  smooth  surface  of  the  plain 
was  broken  by  a  rugged  zigzag  line  of  black,  which 
marked  the  further  wall  of  the  Snake  Cafion.  A  dull, 
throbbing  sound  greeted  us.  Its  pulsations  were  deep, 
and  seemed  to  proceed  from  the  ground  beneath  our 
feet.  Leaving  the  cavalry  to  bring  up  the  wagon,  my 
friend  and  I  galloped  on,  and  were  quickly  upon  the 
edge  of  the  caiion  w^all. 

"We  looked  down  into  a  broad,  circular  excava- 
tion, three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  diameter,  and  nearly 
1,000  feet  deep.  East  and  north,  over  the  edges  of 
the  canon,  we  looked  across  miles  and  miles  of  the 
Snake  Plain,  far  on  to  the  blue  boundary  mountains. 
The  wall  of  the  gorge  opposite  us,  like  the  cliff  at  our 
feet,  sank  in  perpendicular  bluffs,  nearly  to  the  level 
of  the  river,  the  broad  excavation  being  covered  by 
rough  piles  of  black  lava  and  rounded  domes  of  rock. 
A  horizon  as  level  as  the  sea;  a  circling  wall,  whose 
sharp  edges  were  here  and  there  battlemented  in  huge, 
fortress-like  masses;  a  broad  river,  smooth  and 
unruffled,  flowing  quietly  in  the  middle  of  the  scene, 
and  then  plunging  into  a  labyrinth  of  rocks,  tumbling 
over  a  precipice  220  feet  high,  and  moving  west- 
ward in  a  still,  deep  current,  to  disappear  behind  a 
black  promontory. 

"It  is  a  strange,  savage  scene — a  monotony  of  pale 
blue  sky,  olive  and  gray  stretches  of  desert,  frowning 

158 


SHOSHONE,  THE  WESTERN  NIAGARA 

walls  of  jetty  lava,  deep  beryl-green  river  stretches, 
reflecting  here  and  there  the  intense  solemnity  of  the 
cliffs,  and  in  the  center  a  dazzling  sheet  of  foam.  In 
the  early  morning  light,  the  shadows  of  the  cliffs  were 
cast  over  half  the  basin,  defining  themselves  in  sharp 
outline  here  and  there  on  the  river.  Upon  the  foam 
of  the  cataract,  one  point  of  the  rock  cast  a  blue 
shadow.  Where  the  river  flowed  around  the  western 
promontory,  it  was  wholly  in  shadow^  and  of  a  deep 
sea-green.  A  scanty  growth  of  trees  fringed  the  brink 
of  the  lower  cliffs  overhanging  the  river.  Dead  bar- 
renness is  the  whole  sentiment  of  the  scene.  The 
mere  suggestion  of  trees  clinging  here  and  there  along 
the  walls  serves  rather  to  heighten  than  to  relieve  the 
forbidding  gloom  of  the  place.  Nor  does  the  flashing 
whiteness  where  the  river  tears  itself  among  the  rocky 
islands,  or  rolls  in  spray  down  the  cliff,  brighten  the 
aspect.  In  contrast  with  its  brilliancy,  the  rocks  seem 
darker  and  more  wild. 

"The  descent  of  1,000  feet  from  our  standpoint  to 
the  level  of  the  river  above  the  falls  has  to  be  made 
by  a  narrow  winding  path  among  rough  ledges  of  lava. 
We  were  obliged  to  leave  our  wagon  at  the  summit, 
and  pack  down  the  camp  equipment  and  photographic 
apparatus  upon  carefully-led  mules.  By  mid-day 
we  were  comfortably  camped  on  the  margin  of  the 
left  bank,  just  above  the  brink  of  the  falls.  My  tent 
was  pitched  upon  the  edge  of  the  cliff  directly  over- 
hanging the  rapids.  From  my  door,  1  looked  over 
the  cataract,  and,  whenever  the  veil  of  mist  was 
blown  aside,  could  see  for  a  mile  down  the  river. 

159 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

"The  lower  half  of  the  canon  is  excavated  in  a 
volcanic  formation  of  red  and  gray  rock.  It  is  over 
this  material  that  the  Snake  falls.  Above  the  brink, 
the  whole  breadth  of  the  river  is  broken  by  a  dozen 
small  volcanic  islands,  which  the  water  has  carved 
into  fantastic  forms;  rounding  some  into  low  domes, 
sharpening  others  into  mere  pillars,  and  now  and  then 
wearing  into  deep  caves.  At  the  very  brink  of  the 
fall,  a  few  twisted  evergreens  cling  with  their  roots 
to  the  rock,  and  lean  over  the  abyss  of  foam  w^ith 
something  of  that  air  of  fatal  fascination  which  is  apt 
to  take  possession  of  men.  Under  the  influence  of 
the  cool  shadow  of  cliffs  and  pine,  and  constant  per- 
colating of  surface  waters,  a  rare  fertility  is  devel- 
oped in  the  ravines  opening  upon  the  canon  shore. 
A  luxuriance  of  ferns  and  mosses,  an  almost  tropical 
wealth  of  green  leaves  and  velvety  carpeting  line 
the  banks.  There  are  no  rocks  at  the  base  of  the 
fall.  The  sheet  of  foam  plunges  almost  vertically 
into  a  dark  beryl-green  lake-like  expanse  of  river. 

"Immense  volumes  of  foam  roll  up  from  the 
cataract  base,  and  whirling  about  in  eddying  winds, 
rise  often  a  thousand  feet  in  the  air.  When  the 
wind  blows  down  the  canon,  a  gray  mist  obscures 
the  river  for  half  a  mile;  and,  when,  as  is  usually  the 
case  in  the  afternoon,  the  breezes  blow  eastward, 
the  foam  cloud  curls  over  the  brink  of  the  fall  and 
hangs  like  a  veil  over  the  upper  river.  On  what 
condition  depends  the  height  to  which  the  foam 
cloud  rises  from  the  base  of  the  fall,  it  is  apparently 
impossible    to    determine.     Without     the     slightest 

1 60 


SHOSHONE,  THE  WESTERN  NIAGARA 

wind,  the  cloud  of  spray  often  rises  several  hundred 
feet  above  the  canon  wall,  and  again,  with  appar- 
ently the  same  conditions  of  river  and  atmosphere, 
it  hardly  reaches  the  brink.  Incessant  roar, 
reinforced  by  a  thousand  echoes,  fills  the  canon. 
Out  of  this  monotone  from  time  to  time,  rise  strange 
wild  sounds,  and  now  and  then  may  be  heard  a  slow 
measured  beat,  not  unlike  the  recurring  fall  of 
breakers.  From  the  white  front  of  the  cataract  the 
eye  constantly  wanders  up  to  the  black,  foaming  para- 
pet of  lava.  Angular  bastions  rise  sharply  from  the 
general  level  of  the  wall,  and  here  and  there  isolated 
blocks,  profiling  upon  their  sky  line,  strikingly  recall 
barbette  batteries.  To  goad  one's  imagination  up  to 
the  point  of  perpetually  seeing  resemblances  of  every- 
thing else  in  the  forms  of  rock,  is  the  most  vulgar 
vice  of  travelers;  to  refuse  to  see  the  architectural 
suggestions  upon  Snake  Canon,  however,  is  to 
administer  a  flat  snub  to  one's  fancy.  The  whole 
edge  of  the  canon  is  deeply  cleft  in  vertical  crevices. 
The  actual  brink  is  usually  formed  of  irregular  blocks 
and  prisms  of  lava,  poised  upon  their  ends  in  an 
unstable  equilibrium,  ready  to  be  tumbled  over  at 
the  leverage  of  the  frost.  Hardly  an  hour  passes 
without  the  boom  of  one  of  those  rock  masses  falling 
upon  the  ragged  debris  piles  below. 

"Night  is  the  true  time  to  appreciate  the  full  force 
of  the  scene.  I  lay  and  watched  it  many  hours.  The 
broken  rim  of  the  basin  profiled  itself  upon  a  mass 
of  drifting  clouds,  when  torn  openings  revealed 
gleams  of    pale  moonlight    and    bits  of    remote  sky 

i6i 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

trembling  with  misty  stars.  Intervals  of  light  and 
blank  darkness  hurriedly  followed  each  other.  For 
a  moment  the  black  gorge  would  be  crowded  with 
forms.  Tall  cliffs,  ramparts  of  lava,  the  rugged  out- 
lines of  islands  huddled  together  on  the  cataract's 
brink,  faintly  luminous  foam  breaking  over  black 
rapids,  the  swift  white  leap  of  the  river,  and  a  ghostly, 
formless  mist  through  which  the  canon  walls  and  far 
reach  of  the  lower  river  were  veiled  and  unveiled 
again  and  again.  A  moment  of  this  strange  picture, 
and  then  a  rush  of  black  shadow,  when  nothing 
could  be  seen  but  the  breaks  in  the  clouds,  the 
basin  rim,  and  a  vague  white  center  in  the  general 
darkness.     .     .     ." 

The  water  here,  200  yards  above  the  falls,  is 
over  180  feet  deep,  smooth  and  tranquil,  and  of  a 
greenish  color.  The  ferry  is  a  substantial  affair, 
built  long  after  Mr.  King's  visit,  worked  by  an  under- 
w^ater  w^ire  cable,  and  another  safety  w^ire  cable 
above,  reaching  from  bank  to  bank.  The  cozy  hotel 
is  all  that  could  be  desired  in  cuisine  and  menage,  and 
at  the  very  door  one  stands  and  looks  down  at  the 
falls.  Shoshone  differs  from  every  other  waterfall 
in  this  or  the  old  country.  It  is  its  lonely  grandeur 
that  impresses  one  so  deeply;  all  of  the  other  his- 
toric places  have  the  adjuncts  of  civilization,  and 
one  is  almost  overshadowed  by  a  city  while  in  their 
presence.  The  encroachments  of  men  have  taken 
away  from  the  charm  of  Nature.  But  Shoshone  is 
as  lonely  as  when  at  the  beginning  this  surging 
mountain  flood  sprang  through  those  frowning  canon 

162 


SHOSHONE,  THE  WESTERN  NIAGARA 

walls.  The  height  of  the  chasm  above  and  below 
the  falls  varies  from  1,050  to  1,200  feet,  and  there 
is  eighteen  miles  of  this  gorge.  The  geologists  tell 
us  there  are  twelve  distinct  strata  visible  in  the 
vertical  surface.  The  fall  proper  measures  97  5  feet 
across,  and  the  Bridal  Veil,  which  is  only  a  few  yards 
back  of  the  great  fall,  125  feet.  Down  through  this 
appalling  rent  the  river  plunges,  taking  a  flying  leap 
of  82  feet  at  first,  and  then  falling  thunder- 
ously 210  feet  into  the  boiling  basin  below.  It  is 
7  miles  to  Twin  Falls,  6  miles  to  Blue  Lake,  a 
charming  bit  of  water  7  5  feet  deep  and  as  clear 
as  crystal;  one-half  mile  to  the  Vaulted  Dome; 
one-half  mile  to  the  Locomotive  Cave;  a  mile  and  a 
quarter  to  the  lower  Cascade  Falls,  and  one  and  one- 
half  miles  to  the  Devil's  Corral.  The  hotel  is  situ- 
ated on  the  bank  overlooking  the  Great  Falls  not 
twenty  feet  from  the  brink,  and  affords  a  view  of 
Bridal  Veil,  Bridal  Train,  Natural  Mill  Race  Falls, 
Eagle  Rock,  and  Bell's  Island. 

One  sunset  at  this  enchanted  spot  will  forever 
linger  in  my  memory.  The  day  began  to  die,  and 
then  came  a  wonderful  display.  As  the  sun  went 
down  the  sky  flashed  into  manifold  colors — there 
were  bars  of  violet,  crimson,  and  delicate  shadings 
of  pink  and  salmon.  For  a  few  moments  the  sun 
hung  over  the  great  chasm  below  the  falls,  flooding 
the  majestic  canon  walls  with  warm  glows,  and  light- 
ing up  the  falls  with  surpassing  brilliancy;  the  river 
flowed  beneath,  restless  and  seething  after  its  mighty 
conflict.      Down  the  red  orb  went  behind  the  western 

163 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

cliff,  and  great  flame  bursts  and  banners,  many-hued, 
witnessed  his  departure.  There  was  a  pause — and 
then  the  pageant  dissolved;  cool  amber  grays  crept 
across  the  dome  and  deepened  into  shadow;  another 
moment  the  day  was  gone,  and  starlight  upon  us. 

But  at  night  the  place  was  haunted.  The  wave 
circles  of  sound  were  recurrent — at  least  two  or  three 
were — that  one  especially  which  resembled  the  thunder 
of  a  railway  train  at  full  speed.  It  would  come  roar- 
ing by  and  die  away  only  to  return  again  and  again. 
The  mystery  and  majesty  of  this  great  organ  volume 
of  sound  were,  at  times,  appalling.  1  remember  that 
the  one  solid  theme  of  the  thunder  of  the  falls 
never  ceased — that  was  permanent  and  unvarying — 
but  upon  this  monotonous  theme  were  played  a  thou- 
sand variations.  Once  there  was  a  steady  tramp,  as 
of  a  battalion  of  soldiers  marchingstrongly  and  steadily 
together.  This  died  away,  and  then  two  voices  were 
heard;  very  far  off,  but  distinct  as  if  engaged  in  angry 
altercation;  they  sank  down  and  the  room  became 
full  of  vague  and  shadowy  whisperings,  then  the 
refrain  would  break  out  again.  It  was  too  nerve- 
trying,  and  we  opened  the  window  wide;  the  moon- 
light fell  full  on  the  falls  and  lingered  on  the  rent 
and  ghastly  side  of  the  canon  walls.  A  faint  recur- 
rence could  be  detected  in  the  heavy  bass  movement 
of  the  symphony,  if  one  may  so  call  it,  but  otherwise 
there  was  nothing  more  than  the  powerful  swish  and 
roar  of  the  water;  but  many  a  time  through  the  night 
we  heard  those  haunting  voices,  and  weird,  uncanny 
sounds. 

164 


SHOSHONE,  THE  WESTERN  NIAGARA 

Across  the  deep,  green  water  we  went  again  in 
safety;  upon  the  narrow  road  along  the  face  of  the 
cliff,  and  once  more  stood  in  the  magnificent  portal 
and  looked  back.  Serenely  towered  the  canon  walls 
in  the  still  summer  air;  placid  and  calm  the  river  below; 
the  thunder  of  the  cataract  heard  dimly  around  to  the 
right;  golden  sunshine  falling  tenderly  on  the  torn  and 
gashed  outline  of  mountain  wall  and  dreaming  river — 
a  dozen  steps  through  the  sharp  defile,  and  the  picture 
vanished;  there  were  no  mighty  deeps— no  river,  no 
gleam  of  falling  splendor — the  waste  of  the  desert 
and  the  dreary  miles  of  sage  brush  crept  away  to  the 
dim  horizon  on  every  side! 


Shoshone  Falls,  Idaho 


16  = 


THE  EMPIRE  BUILDER 

Nearly  twenty  years  ago  Sidney  Dillon,  railway 
pioneer,  and  once  president  of  the  Union  Pacific, 
wrote: 

"The  growth  of  the  United  States  west  of  the 
Alleghenies  during  the  past  fifty  years  is  due  not  so 
much  to  free  institutions,  or  climate,  or  to  the  fertility 
of  the  soil,  as  to  railways.  If  the  institutions  and 
climate  and  soil  had  not  been  favorable  to  the  devel- 
opment of  commonwealths,  railways  would  not  have 
been  constructed;  but  if  railways  had  not  been 
invented,  the  freedom  and  natural  advantages  of  the 
Western  States  would  have  beckoned  to  human  immi- 
gration and  industry  in  vain.  Civilization  would  have 
crept  slowly  on,  in  a  toilsome  march  over  the  immense 
spaces  that  lie  between  the  Appalachian  ranges  and 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  what  we  now  style  the  Great 
West  would  be,  except  in  the  valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, an  unknown  and  unproductive  wilderness. 

"Like  many  other  great  truths,  this  is  so  well 
known  to  the  elder  portions  of  our  commonwealth 
that  they  have  forgotten  it;  and  the  younger  portions 
do  not  comprehend  or  appreciate  it.  Men  are  so 
constituted  that  they  use  existing  advantages  as 
if  they  had  always  existed,  and  were  matters  of 
course.  The  world  went  without  friction  matches 
during  uncounted  thousands  of  years,  but  people 
light  fires  to-day  without  a  thought  as  to  the  mar- 
velous chemistry  of  the  little  instrument  that   is  of 

167 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

such  inestimable  value,  and  yet  remained  so  long 
unknown.  The  youngster  of  today  steps  into  a  lux- 
urious coach  at  New  York,  Philadelphia,  or  Chicago, 
eats,  sleeps,  surveys  romantic  scenery  from  the  win- 
dow^  during  a  few  days,  and  alights  in  Portland  or  San 
Francisco  without  any  just  appreciation  of  the  fact 
that  a  few  decades  since  it  would  have  required 
w^eeks  of  toilsome  travel  to  go  over  the  same  ground, 
during  which  he  would  have  run  the  risks  of  starva- 
tion, of  being  lost  in  the  wilderness,  plundered  by 
robbers,  or  killed  by  savages.  But  increased  facili- 
ties of  travel  are  among  the  smaller  benefits  conferred 
by  the  railway.  The  most  beneficent  function  of 
the  railway  is  that  of  a  carrier  of  freight.  What 
would  it  cost  for  a  man  to  carry  a  ton  of  wheat  one 
mile?  What  would  it  cost  for  a  horse  to  do  the  same? 
The  railway  does  it  at  a  cost  of  less  than  a  cent. 
This  brings  Dakota  and  Minnesota  into  direct  relation 
with  hungry  and  opulent  Liverpool,  and  makes  sub- 
sistence easier  and  cheaper  throughout  the  civilized 
world.  The  world  should,  therefore,  thank  the  rail- 
way for  the  opportunity  to  buy  wheat;  but  none  the 
less  should  the  West  thank  the  railway  for  the 
opportunity  to  sell  wheat." 

"Among  all  the  stories  in  American  railroading 
— and  it  has  teemed  with  the  marvelous — few  chap- 
ters are  so  extraordinary,"  says  Frank  H.  Spearman, 
"as  the  building  up  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad 
system  by  Edward  H.  Harriman.  The  boldness  of 
the  conception,  the  magnitude  of  the  undertaking, 
and  the  constructive  genius  shown  in  the  working 

i68 


THE  EMPIRE  BUILDER 


out  of  the  plans  are  all  unusual  features  even  in  a 
day  of  undertakings  that  make  for  us  every  year 
new  records  in  industrial  history.  But  a  little  more 
than  ten  years  ago  the  Union  Pacific  was  a 
Cinderella  among  our  railways,  sitting  forlorn  and 
in  ashes,  and  all  unconscious  of  the  presence  of  one 
ready  to  fit  the  slipper  of  efficiency  to  its  foot  and  lead 
it  to  the  highest  place  in  American  railroading." 

What  this  reconstruction  has  done  for  the  earn- 
ing power  of  the  road  may  be  reflected  in  the 
fact  that  Harriman  paid  the  government  virtually 
$60,000,000  at  auction  for  the  road  and  today  its 
capital  stock  is  valued  at  $295,000,000.  Its  annual 
gross  earnings  far  exceed  the  amount  Mr.  Harriman 
paid  for  it. 

What  this  reconstruction  has  done  for  the  vast 
empire  stretching  out  from  the  Missouri  River  to 
the  Pacific  Coast  may  be  reflected  in  the  boundless 
prosperity  of  the  towns,  cities,  and  States  along  its 
line.  Communities  have  been  planted  and  developed 
and  enriched,  real  estate  and  farm  values  have  been 
multiplied,  industries  have  been  established,  streams 
have  been  harnessed,  power  plants  converted  from 
natural  resources  that  before  this  era  of  railroad 
ingenuity  went  unused.  Volumes  might  be  written 
upon  the  commercial  and  industrial  influence  of  the 
physical  reconstruction  of  the  Union  Pacific  upon 
the  country  it  traverses. 

Mr.  Harriman  bought  the  road  from  the  govern- 
ment November  1,  1897,  at  auction  sale  in  Omaha; 
and   the  road  was  bankrupt.      It   owed   the  govern- 


169 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

ment  over  $45,000,000,  and  its  rolling  stock  was 
run  down,  its  roadbed  had  deteriorated  and  its 
condition  was  so  bad  that  nothing  except  complete 
reconstruction  could  save  it. 

The  Union  Pacific  Railroad — and  the  same  may  be 
said  of  the  Southern  Pacific — today  is  the  peer, 
physically,  of  the  standard  railway  lines  of  the  east. 
Such  a  statement  w^ould  be  unw^arranted  if  offered 
with  a  sanction  less  than  that  of  the  head  of  opera- 
tion— the  senior  vice  president — of  the  New  York 
Central  Lines  themselves.  And  this  standard  of 
efficiency,  1  take  it,  remains,  in  the  face  of  many 
remarkable  achievements,  the  chiefest  title  to  Mr. 
Harriman's  strength  as  a  railway  man. 

It  must  be  said  that  Mr.  Harriman  has  spent  money 
like  water  to  make  his  roads  safe;  he  has  never 
winced  at  huge  estimates  in  that  direction.  And  the 
rapidity  with  which  he  has  passed  on  the  enormous 
sums  required  for  betterments  has  often  taken  away 
the  breath  of  his  associates.  It  costs  $1,000  a  mile 
to  block  signal  a  railway.  More  than  $12,000,000 
has  gone  into  that  work  and  safety  appliances  alone 
on  the  Southern  and  Union  Pacific  and  other  parts 
of  the  Harriman  System.  It  is  now  possible  to 
travel  from  Chicago  to  Portland  or  to  Los  Angeles, 
and  from  there  far  out  into  the  Colorado  desert, 
entirely  under  automatic  block  signals.  Block  signals 
do  not  greatly  expedite  train  movement;  they  make 
train  movement  safer.  The  $12,000,000  spent  on 
them  is  only  an  item  in  the  expenditures  for  better- 
ment, additions,  and  reconstruction  on  these  two  rail- 

170 


THE  EMPIRE  BUILDER 


ways  since  Mr.  Harriman  took  control  of  them.  The 
aggregate  for  these  purposes  has  reached  in  ten 
years  $118,000,000. 

For  the  twelve  months  ending  June  30,  1898 — the 
year  of  the  re-organization — the  gross  receipts  and 
income  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  amounted  to 
$33,281,125  from  5,325  miles  of  railway  operated. 
For  the  year  ending  June  30,  1907,  the  gross  receipts 
were  $87,473,766. 

During  this  same  period,  the  surplus,  after  the 
payment  of  operating  expenses  and  taxes,  grew  from 
$13,700,834  to  $44,829,542.  While  net  earnings 
were  increasing  at  this  rate,  fixed  charges  which  in 
1898  were  $4,488,260  had  in  1907  become  only 
$8,652,621. 

For  the  twelve  months  ending  June  30,  1898 — 
three  years  before  the  present  management  took 
hold — the  gross  receipts  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
Company  were  $57,975,593.  For  1907,  the  figures 
were  $1 29,900,404— a  sum  equaled  only  by  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company. 

During  this  same  period  the  surplus,  after  paying 
operating  expenses  and  taxes,  grew  from  only  $21,- 
357,537  to  $46,783,102.  Fixed  charges  meanwhile 
increased  from  $15,431,078  in  1898  to  $19,084,409 
in  1907.  In  1898,  no  dividend  was  paid,  and  there 
was  a  surplus  of  $5,926,458.  In  1907,  dividends 
aggregating  $13,157,013  were  paid,  and  there  was 
left  over  a  surplus  of  $14,541,580. 

Mr.  Harriman's  suggestions  to  men  like  President 
Harahan  of  the   Illinois  Central,    President    Under- 

171 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

wood  of  the  Erie,  or  to  Mr.  Kruttschnitt,  were  the 
amazement  of  these  men,  who  had  spent  their  Uves 
in  making  railways.  For  example,  every  good  railway 
has  small  branch  lines,  vital  to  it  in  that  they  supply 
freight  traffic.  The  public  living  on  such  lines 
demands  a  passenger  service  that  must  be  run  at  a 
loss.  A  branch  line  passenger  train  turning  in  gross 
earnings  of  30  cents  a  mile  eats  heavily  into  the 
freight  profits,  and  every  American  railway  man  has 
had  occasion  to  worry  over  this  difficulty.  Motoring 
one  day  in  France,  Mr.  Harriman  said,  pointing  to 
the  machine  in  w^hich  he  was  riding,  "Why  not  try 
something  of  this  kind  on  our  Nebraska  branches?" 

Every  one  of  our  railway  men  had  thought  of  the 
branch-line  difficulty,  but  it  was  Mr.  Harriman  who 
thought  of  the  solution.  The  result  was  a  railway 
gasoline  motor  passenger  car  to  take  the  place  of  the 
locomotive  and  the  two  heavy  and  nearly  empty 
passenger  cars  of  a  train,  with  their  two  expensive 
crews.  A  company  was  organized  w^hich  makes  these 
cars  and  they  are  now  used  on  the  Union  Pacific  and 
other  railways. 

Mr.  Harriman  was  first  in  declaring  that  our 
present  track-gauge  of  four  feet,  eight  and  one-half 
inches  is  inadequate  to  present-day  railway  needs; 
that  we  must  come  to  a  six-foot  gauge.  Some  of  our 
railways  started  out  with  such  a  gauge  two  genera- 
tions ago.  It  was  more  than  they  could  stand  then, 
but  it  is  what  is  needed  today;  and  only  the 
appalling  cost  of  the  change  prevents  its  adoption. 

In  1889   Hon.  Jesse  Spaulding,  one  of   the  Gov- 

172 


THE  EMPIRE  BUILDER 


ernment  directors  of  the  Union  Pacific,  in  his  report 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  made  the  following 
observations — what  Mr.  Spaulding  said  twenty-one 
years  ago  is  as  true  to-day  as  then;  the  point  of 
view  and  the  note  of  progress  is  simply  emphasized 
in    1910: 

"1  found  people  in  Nebraska  w^ho  are  possessed 
with  the  idea  that  the  Union  Pacific  was  constructed 
for,  and  should  be  operated  mainly  in  deference  to, 
the  wishes  of  that  section,  and  who  actually  believed 
that  their  State  should  be  consulted  by  the  managers 
before  any  improvements  were  made,  innovations 
prosecuted,  or  extensions  pushed  forward.  In  the 
minds  of  such  people  the  question  whether  the  road 
had  done  more  for  the  State  than  the  State  had  done 
for  the  road  never  seemed  to  arise.  But  those  who 
take  an  unreasoning  and,  to  my  mind,  a  most  unjust 
view  of  the  conduct  of  the  Union  Pacific  are 
exceptions  to  the  rule.  Among  the  most  advanced 
thinkers  of  Nebraska  a  different  feeling  exists  and 
different  opinions  prevail.  They  point  out  with  just 
and  pardonable  pride  the  wonderful  strides  which  the 
young  State  has  made  since  the  Union  Pacific  Rail- 
way was  constructed.  They  call  your  attention  to 
the  beautiful,  bustling,  and  wealthy  city  of  Omaha, 
with  its  140,000  inhabitants,  to  the  handsome  and 
progressive  State  capital,  Lincoln,  with  its  60,000; 
to  Grand  Island,  with  its  15,000;  to  Beatrice,  with  its 
12,000;  to  Fremont,  with  its  10,000,  and  Hastings, 
with  its  10,000;  and  to  a  hundred  thriving  towns  and 
cities    along    the    lines    of     the    main    stem    and    its 

173 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

branches,  the  growth  of  all  of  which  is  directly  due 
to  the  facilities  for  the  receipt,  distribution,  and  ship- 
ment of  commodities  and  manufactures  afforded  by 
the  Union  Pacific  System. 

"The  growth  of  the  whole  country  from  the  Mis- 
souri River  to  the  Rockies  is  surprising.  One  sees 
nothing  but  signs  of  life  and  evidences  of  prog- 
ress on  all  sides.  The  smallest  hamlets  are  imbued 
with  the  same  spirit  that  characterizes  the  larger 
tow^ns  and  cities.  The  people  are  everyw^here  enter- 
prising, energetic,  and  industrious.  Improvements, 
innovations,  and  inventions  that  the  East  has  not  yet 
had  time  to  adopt,  to  make,  or  to  utilize  are  to  be 
found  in  full  operation  in  these  new  communities. 
Small  towns  in  the  Far  West  have  a  better  system  of 
street  railways  and  street  illumination  than  the  great 
cities  of  the  East.  Street  cars  drawn  by  horses,  in 
the  minds  of  Western  people,  belong  to  the  remote 
past.  It  is  a  slow  town,  indeed,  that  has  not  acquired 
its  cable  or  electric  railway,  or  that  depends  upon  gas 
as  a  street  illuminator.  While  there  has  been  an 
unhealthy  inflation  in  the  price  of  real  estate  in  many 
of  those  towns,  my  observation  was  that  most  of 
them  had  passed  safely  through  the  dangerous  specu- 
lative period  of  their  existence,  and  are  now  growing 
steadily  and  solidly.  But  few  of  the  towns  which 
have  attracted  attention  by  reason  of  their  sudden, 
rapid,  or  mushroom  growth  during  the  past  twenty 
years,  have  disappointed  those  who  cast  their  lots 
with  them.  They  are  nearly  all  well  situated,  and,  in 
my  opinion,  are   destined    to    continue    growing    in 

174 


THE  EMPIRE  BUILDER 


population  and  wealth  for  many  years  to  come. 
Manufactories  of  all  kinds  are  everywhere  welcomed 
and  encouraged,  morally  and  substantially;  mining  in 
some  sections  is  only  yet  in  its  infancy;  industries  of 
all  kinds  find  a  constantly  growing  market;  the  agri- 
cultural districts  are  expanding  month  by  month; 
there  is  nothing,  apparently,  to  check  the  tide  of 
prosperity."  The  Union  Pacific  was  the  empire 
builder  of  the  West. 


Palisade  Canon,  Nevada 


175 


Nearer  View  of  Promontory  Point,  Utah 


DRIVING  THE  GOLDEN  SPIKE 

General  Grenville  M.  Dodge,  "chief  engineer  in 
charge  of  construction,  "  still  with  us,  hale  and 
hearty  rounding  out  an  active  life  in  honored  old 
age,  tells  in  picturesque  fashion  the  story  of  the 
driving  of  the  golden  spike  at  Promontory  in  1869. 
The  story  was  written  for  the  fortieth  anniversary 
of  this  event  May  10,  1909.' 

"The  building  of  a  Pacific  steam  road  to  connect 
the  streams  flowing  into  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
was  advocated  as  early  as  1819,  before  a  mile  of 
railroad  was  built  in  any  part  of  the  world.  It  took 
practical  form  when  Asa  Whitney,  in  1845,  in 
petitioning  Congress  in  behalf  of  a  Pacific  railroad, 
said:  'You  will  see  that  it  will  change  the  whole 
world.'  Senator  Thomas  H.  Benton  in  1849  pleaded 
that  the  great  line  when  built  should  'be  adorned 
with  its  crowning  honor,  the  colossal  statue  of  the 
great  Columbus,  whose  design  it  accomplishes, 
hewn  from  the  granite  mass  of  a  peak  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  overlooking  the  road,  the  mountain 
itself  the  pedestal,  and  the  statue  a  part  of  the 
mountain,  pointing  with  outstretched  arm  to  the 
western  horizon,  and  saying  to  the  flying  passenger, 
"There  is  the  east!  There  is  India!  "  '  Charles 
Sumner  in  1853  said:  'The  railroad  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  traversing  a  whole  continent 
and  binding  together  two  oceans,  this  mighty 
thoroughfare  when  completed  will  mark  an  epoch 
of    human    progress     second    only    to    that    of     our 

177 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

Declaration  of  Independence.  May  the  day  soon 
come!'  And  it  did  come,  and  all  the  prophecies 
were  fulfilled  when  the  first  transcontinental  line 
was  completed  and  the  tracks  joined  at  Promontory 
Point,  Utah,  on  May  10,  1869,  just  forty  years  ago. 
Ground  was  broken  at  Omaha  December  2,  1863. 

"This  ceremony  was  one  of  peace  and  harmony 
between  the  Union  Pacific,  coming  from  the  east, 
and  the  Central  Pacific,  coming  from  the  West. 
For  a  year  or  more  there  had  been  great  contention 
and  rivalry  between  the  two  companies,  the  Union 
Pacific  endeavoring  to  reach  Humboldt  Wells,  on 
the  west  boundary  of  Utah,  and  the  Central  Pacific 
rushing  to  reach  Ogden,  Utah,  to  give  them  an  out- 
let to  Salt  Lake  City,  and  the  two  lines  were  graded 
alongside  of  each  other  for  225  miles  between 
Ogden  and  Humboldt  Wells.  Climbing  Promon- 
tory Mountain  they  were  not  a  stone's  throw  apart. 

"When  both  companies  saw  that  neither  could 
reach  its  goal  they  came  together  and  we  made  an 
agreement  to  join  the  tracks  on  the  summit  of 
Promontory  mountain,  the  Union  Pacific  selling 
to  the  Central  Pacific  fifty-six  miles  of  its  road  back 
within  five  miles  of  Ogden  and  leasing  trackage 
over  that  five  miles  to  enable  the  Central  Pacific  to 
reach  Ogden.  These  five  miles  were  not  only  a 
part  of  the  Union  Pacific,  but  used  by  their  line 
north  to  Idaho.  This  agreement  was  ratified  by 
Congress.  Each  road  built  to  the  summit  of  Pro- 
montory, leaving  a  gap  of  about  100  feet  of  rail  to 
be  laid  when  the  last  spike  was  driven.     The  chief 

178 


DRIVING  THE  GOLDEN  SPIKE 

engineers  of  the  Union  and  Central  Pacific  had 
charge  of  the  ceremony  and  the  work,  and  we  set  a 
day  far  enough  ahead  so  that  trains  coming  from 
New  York  and  San  Francisco  would  have  ample 
time  to  reach  Promontory  in  time  to  take  part  in  the 
ceremonies. 

ARRIVAL  OF  THE  OFFICIAL  PARTIES 

"On  the  morning  of  May  10,  1869,  Hon.  Leland 
Stanford,  governor  of  California  and  president  of 
the  Central  Pacific,  accompanied  by  Messrs.  Hunt- 
ington, Hopkins,  Croker  and  trainloads  of  Cali- 
fornia's distinguished  citizens,  arrived  from  the 
West.  During  the  forenoon  Vice  President  T.  C. 
Durant  and  Directors  John  R.  Duff  and  Sidney 
Dillon  and  Consulting  Engineer  Silas  A.  Seymour 
of  the  Union  Pacific,  with  other  prominent  men, 
including  a  delegation  of  Mormons  from  Salt  Lake 
City,  came  in  on  a  train  from  the  East.  The  national 
government  was  represented  by  a  detachment  of 
'regulars'  from  Fort  Douglas,  Utah,  accompanied 
by  a  band,  and  600  others,  including  Chinese, 
Mexicans,  Indians,  half-breeds,  negroes  and  laborers, 
suggesting  an  air  of  cosmopolitanism,  all  gathered 
around  the  open  space  where  the  tracks  were  to  be 
joined.  The  Chinese  laid  the  rails  from  the  west 
end,  and  the  Irish  laborers  laid  them  from  the 
east  end,  until  they  met  and  joined. 

"Telegraphic  wires  were  so  connected  that  each 
blow   of   the    descending  sledge  could  be   reported 

179 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

instantly  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States.  Corre- 
sponding blows  were  struck  on  the  bell  of  the  city 
hall  in  San  Francisco,  and  with  the  last  blow  of  the 
sledge  a  cannon  was  fired  at  Fort  Point.  General 
Safford  presented  a  spike  of  gold,  silver  and  iron  as 
the  offering  of  the  Territory  of  Arizona.  Governor 
Tuttle  of  Nevada  presented  a  spike  of  silver  from 
his  State.  The  connecting  tie  was  of  California 
laurel,  and  California  presented  the  last  spike  of 
gold  in  behalf  of  that  State.  A  silver  sledge  had 
also  been  presented  for  the  occasion.  A  prayer  was 
offered.  Governor  Stanford  of  California  made  a 
few  appropriate  remarks  on  behalf  of  the  Central 
Pacific  and  the  chief  engineer  responded  for  the 
Union  Pacific.  Then  the  telegraphic  inquiry  from 
the  Omaha  office,  from  which  the  circuit  was  to  be 
started,  was  answered:  *To  everybody:  Keep 
quiet.  When  the  last  spike  is  driven  at  Promontory 
Point  we  will  say  "Done."  Don't  break  the  circuit, 
but  watch  for  the  signals  of  the  blows  of  the 
hammer.  The  spike  will  soon  be  driven.  The 
signal  will  be  three  dots  for  the  commencement  of 
the  blows.'  The  magnet  tapped  one — -two — three 
— then  paused — 'Done.'  The  spike  was  given  its 
first  blow  by  President  Stanford  and  Vice  President 
Durant  followed,  neither  of  whom  hit  the  spike  the 
first  time,  but  hit  the  rail,  and  were  greeted  by 
the  lusty  cheers  of  the  onlookers,  accompanied 
by  the  screams  of  the  locomotives  and  the  music  of 
the  military  band.  Many  other  spikes  were  driven 
on  the  last  rail  by  some  of  the  distinguished  persons 

i8o 


DRIVING  THE  GOLDEN  SPIKE 

present,  but  it  was  seldom  that  they  first  hit  the 
spike.  The  original  spike,  after  being  tapped  by 
the  officials  of  the  companies,  was  driven  home 
by  the  chief  engineers  of  the  two  roads.  Then  the 
two  trains  were  run  together,  the  two  locomotives 
touching  at  the  point  of  junction,  and  the  engineers 
of  the  two  locomotives  each  broke  a  bottle  of 
champagne  on  the  other's  engine.  Then  it  was 
declared  that  the  connection  was  made  and  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  were  joined  together  never  to 
be   parted. 

CELEBRATE  FROM  OCEAN  TO  OCEAN 

"The  wires  in  every  direction  were  hot  with 
congratulatory  telegrams.  President  Grant  and  Vice 
President  Colfax  were  the  recipients  of  especially 
felicitous  messages.  On  the  evening  of  May  8th,  in 
San  Francisco,  from  the  stages  of  the  theaters  and 
other  public  places,  notice  was  given  that  the  two 
roads  had  met  and  w^ere  to  be  wedded  on  the 
morrow.  The  celebration  there  began  at  once  and 
practically  lasted  through  the  10th.  The  booming 
of  cannon  and  the  ringing  of  bells  were  united  with 
the  other  species  of  noise  making  in  which  jubilant 
humanity  finds  expression  for  its  feelings  on  such 
an  occasion.  The  buildings  in  the  city  were  gay 
with  flags  and  bunting.  Business  was  suspended 
and  the  longest  procession  that  San  Francisco  had 
ever  seen  attested  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people.  At 
night  the  city  was  brilliant  with  illuminations.  Free 
railway  trains  filled   Sacramento  [with   an   unwonted 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

crowd,  and    the    din    of    cannon,  steam   whistles   and 
bells  followed  the   final  message. 

"At  the  eastern  terminus  in  Omaha,  the  firing  of 
a  hundred  guns  on  Capitol  Hill,  more  bells  and  steam 
whistles  and  a  grand  procession  of  fire  companies, 
civic  socities,  citizens  and  visiting  delegations  echoed 
the  sentiments  of  the  Californians.  In  Chicago  a 
procession  of  four  miles  in  length,  a  lavish  display 
of  decoration  in  the  city  and  on  the  vessels  in  the 
river,  and  an  address  by  Vice  President  Colfax  in 
the  evening  were  the  evidences  of  the  city's  feeling. 
In  New  York,  by  order  of  the  mayor,  a  salute  of  a 
hundred  guns  announced  the  culmination  of  the 
great  undertaking.  In  Trinity  church  the  te  deum 
was  chanted,  prayers  were  offered,  and  when  the 
services  were  over  the  chimes  rung  out  'Old  Hun- 
dred,' the  'Ascension  Carol,'  and  national  airs.  The 
ringing  of  bells  on  Independence  Hall  and  the  fire 
stations  in  Philadelphia  produced  an  unusual  con- 
course of  citizens  to  celebrate  the  national  event. 
In  the  other  large  cities  of  the  country  the  expres- 
sions of  public  gratification  were  hardly  less  hearty 
and  demonstrative.  Bret  Harte  was  inspired  to  write 
the  celebrated  poem  of  'What  the  Engines  Said.' 
The  first  verse  is: 

"What  was  it  the  engines  said, 
Pilots  touching,   head  to   head. 
Facing  on  the  single  track, 
Half  a  world  behind  each  back? 
This  is  what  the  engines  said, 
Unreported  and  unread. 


DRIVING  THE  GOLDEN  SPIKE 

"Not  forgetting  my  old  commander.  General  W.  T. 
Sherman,  who  had  been  such  an  aid  in  protecting  us 
in  the  building  of  the  road,  in  answer  to  our  tele- 
gram, sent  this  dispatch: 

"Washington,  May  11,  1 869.— General  G.  M. 
Dodge:  In  common  with  millions,  I  sat  yesterday,  and 
heard  the  mystic  taps  of  the  telegraphic  battery 
announce  the  nailing  of  the  last  spike  in  the  great 
Pacific  road.  Indeed,  am  I  its  friend?  Yea.  Yet,  am 
I  to  be  a  part  of  it,  for  as  early  as  1854, 1  was  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  effort  begun  in  San  Francisco  under  the 
contract  of  Robinson,  Seymour  &  Co.  As  soon  as 
General  Thomas  makes  certain  preliminary  inspections 
in  his  new  command  on  the  Pacific  I  will  go  out,  and, 
I  need  not  say,  will  have  different  facilities  from  that 
of  1846,  when  the  only  way  to  California  was  by 
sailing  around  Cape  Horn,  taking  our  ships  196  days. 
All  honor  to  you,  to  Durant,  to  Jack  and  Dan  Case- 
ment, to  Reed,  and  the  thousands  of  brave  fellows 
who  have  wrought  out  this  glorious  problem,  spite  of 
changes,  storms  and  even  doubts  of  the  incredulous, 
and  all  the  obstacles  you  have  happily  surmounted. 
W.  T.  SHERMAN,  General. 

"After  the  ceremony,  a  sumptuous  lunch  was 
served  in  President  Stanford's  cars  and  appropriate 
speeches  were  made  by  Governor  Stanford  and 
others,  and  a  general  jollification  was  enjoyed.  At 
night  each  train  took  its  way  to  its  own  home,  leaving 
at  the  junction  point  only  the  engineers  and  the 
workmen  to  complete  the  work  ready  for  the  through 
trains  that  followed  in  a  day  or  two  after. 

"The  one  thought  that  was  in  all  minds  was,  'What 
of  the  future?     What  could  a  railroad  earn  that  ran 

183 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

almost  its  entire  length  from  Nebraska  to  the  Cali- 
fornia State  line  through  a  country  uninhabited,  and, 
at  that  date,  with  no  developed  local  business  upon 
its  whole  line.' 

"My  own  views  upon  that  question  I  expressed  in 
my  report  upon  the  completion  of  the  road  in  1869, 
in  which  I  said:  'Its  future  is  fraught  with  great 
good.  It  w^ill  develop  a  w^aste,  ^vill  bind  together 
the  two  extremes  of  the  nation  as  one,  will  stimulate 
intercourse  and  trade,  and  bring  harmony,  prosperity, 
and  wealth  to  the  two  coasts.  A  proper  policy, 
systematically  and  persistently  followed,  will  bring 
to  the  road  the  trade  of  the  two  oceans  and  will  give 
it  all  the  business  it  can  accommodate;  while  the 
local  trade  will  increase  gradually  until  the  mining, 
grazing,  and  agricultural  regions  through  which  it 
passes  will  build  up  and  create  a  business  that  will 
be  a  lasting  and  permanent  support  to  the  company.* 

"As  soon  as  the  road  was  in  operation,  with  reg- 
ular trains,  the  company  called  upon  me  to  make  an 
estimate  of  the  earnings  of  the  company  for  the 
next  ten  years.  They  desired  that  they  should  show 
a  sum,  if  possible,  equal  to  the  interest  upon  all  the 
company  bonds  and  provide  for  the  government 
sinking  fund. 

WHAT  THE  GOLDEN  SPIKE  ACHIEVED 

"This  was  a  problem  that  would  have  challenged 
the  imagination  of  the  greatest  optimist  of  the  time, 
for  we  had  a  road  1,086  miles  in  length,  with  few  set- 
tlements upon  it,    and    the    country  surrounding  it, 

184 


DRIVING  THE  GOLDEN  SPIKE 

from  our  own  observation,  did  not  promise  any  great 
amount  of  railroad  traffic.  However,  by  claiming  all 
the  known  traffic  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific, 
and  all  the  trade  of  foreign  countries  seeking  Japan, 
China,  and  Australia  by  this  route,  we  built  up  a 
yearly  earning  of  $5,000  per  mile;  but  the  growth  of 
the  country  even  then  distanced  my  imagination  100 
per  cent,  and  our  yearly  earnings  in  ten  years  rose  to 
$10,000  or  $12,000  per  mile.  When  I  look  back 
upon  the  growth  of  the  country  west  of  the  Missouri, 
now  supporting  five  transcontinental  lines,  with  all 
the  miles  of  lateral  roads  filling  the  intermediate 
territory,  with  the  traffic  on  the  Union  Pacific  today 
demanding  a  double  track  over  its  entire  length, 
I  have  not  the  ability  to  even  guess  what  the  future 
has  in  store;  to  calculate  the  business  that  will 
be  created  by  the  Government's  conservation  of 
the  country's  resources,  its  millions  spent  impound- 
ing the  great  streams  that  flow  east  and  west  from 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  minerals  hidden  in  every 
range  and  foothill,  the  agricultural  growth  from  dry 
farming  and  irrigation,  and  the  great  yearly  increase 
in  population.  Today  the  country  is  comparatively 
only  scratched;  as  it  develops  and  grows  today,  in 
ten  years  it  will  require  30,000  additional  miles  of 
railroad  to   transport   its  people  and  its  products. 

"When  the  Union  Pacific  was  first  built,  over  90 
per  cent  of  its  traffic  was  through  business.  Now 
that  figure  is  reversed  and  90  per  cent  of  it  or  more 
is  local,  and  this  is  the  case  with  all  the  transconti- 
nental and  intermediate  lines.     There  is  an  empire 

185 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

building  up  west  of  the  Missouri  River  and  on  the 
Pacific  Coast  from  Mexico  to  Bering  Strait.  Already 
there  is  a  development  that  has  outstripped  every 
effort  to  meet  its  demands  or  anticipate  its  neces- 
sities. To  me,  who  traveled  over  most  of  this 
country  in  the  fifties  and  sixties,  w^hen  its  inhabit- 
ants were  mostly  Indians,  and  its  products  game  and 
grass,  its  growth  I  can  not  even  comprehend,  and  its 
future  no  man  can  safely  prophesy." 

It  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  have  lived  and  wit- 
nessed the  development  of  our  nation  from  the  lakes 
to  the  Pacific.  As  a  result  of  the  civil  war  it  has 
made  a  century's  growth  in  fifty  years. 


Driving  the  Last  Spike 
l86 


THE  COLUMBIA   RIVER 

"Briefest  of  the  mighty  streams  of  earth"  and 
"Achilles  of  rivers"  it  has  been  called;  both  apt  titles 
for  the  majestic  flood,  if  we  accept  the  real  Columbia 
as  existing  only  from  its  junction  with  the  Snake 
336  miles  from  Astoria.  But  the  river  as  shown  on 
the  maps  winds  down  for  1,200  miles  from  two  tiny 
lakes  in  British  Columbia  to  its  death  in  the  Pacific. 
The  old  explorers,  trappers,  and  voyageurs  did  not 
value  highly  either  Clarks  Fork  on  the  north  or 
the  Snake  on  the  south;  that  is  insofar  as  they  were 
of  sufficient  dignity  to  carry  a  great  name  alone;  for 
those  hardy  early  comers  the  Columbia  was  born  at 
the  place  now  known  as  Ainsworth,  where  the  Snake 
is  joined  by  "Clarks  Fork,"  so  that,  Achilles  like,  its 
life  was  short  and  glorious  in  its  jubilant  march  to 
the  sea. 

It  is  born  amidst  the  glories  of  the  range  in  the 
far  north,  its  early  life  tamely  placid;  flows  north  from 
its  source  for  150  miles  through  the  level  marshy 
stretches  of  a  valley,  and  for  all  that  distance  presents 
a  scene  of  unruffled  calm;  at  Boat  Encampment  turns 
sharply  west  and  dashes  through  wild  cafions  and 
dangerous  rapids.  From  Lake  Windermere,  one  of  its 
sources,  to  Golden  is  a  delightful  steamer  ride.  From 
here  the  river  is  abandoned  and  train  taken  to 
Revelstoke  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railroad. 
Steamboat  service  is  afforded  in  interrupted  fashion 
all  the  way  down  the  river  in  this  section,  across  the 
international  boundary  line,  and  due  south  to  Ains- 

187 


THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER 


worth,  interruptions  made  imperative  by  the  many- 
rapids,  falls,  and  bewildering  channels. 

The  traveler  going  west  by  Union  Pacific,  Oregon 
Short  Line,  and  Oregon  Railroad  &  Navigation 
Company  first  views  the  Columbia  at  Umatilla,  Ore- 
gon, and  from  here  we  can  follow  the  majestic  river 
for  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  and  more.  Great 
improvements  are  now  in  process  of  construction 
by  the  Government;  some  have  been  completed. 
Between  Umatilla  and  Celilo  a  lock  will  be  con- 
structed around  the  falls  and  rapids,  and  as  well  at 
The   Dalles. 

The  river  trip  from  The  Dalles  to  Portland  will 
be  found  a  pleasant  diversion  after  the  long  rail- 
w^ay  ride,  and  a  day's  sail  down  the  Columbia  is  a 
memory-picture  which  lasts  a  lifetime.  It  is  88 
miles  by  rail  to  Portland,  the  train  skirting  the 
river  bank  up  to  within  a  few  miles  of  the  city.  The 
distance  by  river  is  50  miles  to  the  Upper  Cascades, 
through  the  great  locks  built  by  the  Government,  then 
60  miles  by  steamer  again  to  Portland.  The  boat 
leaves  The  Dalles  in  the  morning,  and  reaches 
Portland  in  the  evening.  Accommodations  are  first- 
class  in  every  respect;  good  table,  neat  staterooms, 
and  courteous  attention. 

For  those  who  have  leisure  it  is  a  good  plan  to 
give  a  day  to  the  interesting  country  in  the  near 
vicinity  of  The  Dalles.  The  Dalles  proper  of  the 
Columbia  begin  at  Celilo,  14  miles  above  this  point, 
and  after  Celilo  Falls  and  whirlpool  are  simply 
a    succession    of    rapids,   until,   nearing   The    Dalles 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

station,  the  stream  for  two  and  a  half  miles,  narrows 
down  between  walls  of  basaltic  rock  130  feet  across. 
In  the  flood-tides  of  the  spring  the  water  in  the  chasm 
has  risen  126  feet.  The  word  "Dalles"  is  rather 
misleading.  The  word  is  French, "dalle,"  and  means, 
variously,  "a  plate,"  "a  flagstone,"  "a  slab,"  alluding 
to  the  oval  or  square  shaped  stones  which  abound 
in  the  river  bed  and  the  valley  above.  But  the  early 
French  hunters  and  trappers  called  a  chasm,  or  a 
defile,  or  gorge,  "dalles,"  meaning  in  their  vernacular 
"a  trough;"  and  "Dalles"  it  has  remained. 

Leaving  The  Dalles  in  the  morning,  a  splendid 
panorama  begins  to  unfold  on  this  lordly  stream.  It 
is  difficult  to  describe  the  charm  of  this  trip.  Resi- 
dents of  the  East  pronounce  it  superior  to  the 
Hudson,  and  travelers  assert  there  is  nothing  like  it 
in  the  Old  World.  It  is  simply  delicious  to  those 
escaped  from  the  heat  and  dust  of  their  far-off 
homes  to  embark  on  this  noble  stream  and  steam 
smoothly  dow^n  past  frowning  headlands  and  "rocks 
with  cavern  imageries,"  bluffs  lined  with  pine  trees, 
vivid  green,  past  islands  and  falls,  and  distant  views 
of  snowy  peaks.  There  is  no  trip  like  it  on  the 
coast,  and  for  a  river  excursion  there  is  not  its  equal 
in  the  United  States 

From  Cascade  Locks,  swinging  once  more  down 
stream,  we  pass  hundreds  of  charming  spots,  sixty 
miles  of  changeful  beauty  all  the  way  to  Portland; 
Multnomah  Falls,  a  filmy  veil  of  water  falling  720 
feet  into  a  basin  on  the  hillside,  and  then  130  feet  to 
the  river;  past  the  rocky  walls  of  Cape  Horn,  tower- 

190 


THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER 


ing  up  a  thousand  feet;  past  that  curious  freak  of 
nature,  Rooster  Rock,  and  the  Palisades;  past  Fort 
Vancouver,  where  Grant  and  Sheridan  were  once 
stationed;  and,  just  at  sunset  leaving  the  Columbia, 
which  by  this  time  has  broadened  into  noble  dimen- 
sions, we  ascend  the  Willamette  12  miles  to  Port- 
land. And  the  memory  of  that  day's  journey  down 
the  lordly  river  will  remain  a  gracious  possession 
for  years  to  come. 

So  much  has  been  said  of  this  mighty  river  that 
the  preconceived  idea  of  the  tourist  is  of  a  surging 
flood  of  unknown  depth  rushing  like  a  mountain  tor- 
rent. The  plain  facts  are  that  the  Lower  Columbia 
is  rather  a  placid  stream,  with  a  sluggish  current,  and 
the  channel  shoals  up  to  eight  feet,  then  falling  to 
twelve,  fifteen,  and  seventeen  feet,  and  suddenly 
dropping  to  100  feet  of  water  and  over.  In  the 
spring  months  it  will  rise  from  twenty-five  to  forty 
feet,  leaving  driftwood  high  up  among  the  trees  on 
the  banks.  The  tide  ebbs  and  flows  at  Portland 
from  eighteen  inches  to  three  feet,  according  to 
season,  and  this  tidal  influence  is  felt,  in  high  water, 
as  far  up  as  the  Cascades. 

UNFORGOTTEN    PICTURES 


HOOD  FROM  THE  DALLES 

Within  sight  of  the  graceful  cone  of  that  old 
volcano.  Hood,  the  noble  scenery  of  the  Upper 
Columbia  begins.     The  flood  of  waters,  boiling  and 

191 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

hissing  through  the  "Dalles,"  has  run  a  lengthened 
course.  In  part,  it  has  come  from  far  away  to  the 
east,  near  the  base  of  the  Teton  Peaks;  in  part  from 
near  the  Yellowstone  and  from  Henry's  Lake;  and 
from  the  north  where  the  Rockies  extend  their  chain 
into  the  piney  regions  of   British  Columbia. 

From  the  head  of  the  "Dalles,"  Mount  Hood 
shows  grandly,  isolated  above  the  lesser  forest-clad 
mountains,  which  are  dwarfed  in  appearance  to  mere 
hills  by  its  superior  height.  At  no  time  do  we  admire 
the  mountain  more  than  when  it  is  laced  across  by 
fine  tissues  of  cloud,  left  by  a  past  storm,  and  between 
whose  filmy  veils  its  snow^y  sides  are  revealed  with 
teeth-like  'juts  of  lava  thrust  up  through  the  white- 
ness. 

Plainly  visible  are  the  tracks  of  the  ancient  glaciers, 
and  a  strong  glass  shows  the  bristling  ice-fields  that 
cover  it  in  places  at  the  present  time. 

The  Indians  [have  not  yet  entirely  deserted  the 
place.  When  the  spearing  season  arrives  a  few  wig- 
wams are  sure  to  be  seen  close  by  the  impetuous 
tide.  Many  a  glistening  salmon  rew^ards  their  excit- 
ing toil,  and  many  are  secured  as  they  try  to  leap  the 
rapids  and  fall  upon  the  lava  rocks. 

A  GLIMPSE  OF  MOUNT  ADAMS 

Upon  the  hillside  above  the  mouth  of  Hood  River, 
one  has  command  of  a  notewoi't^hy  view.  We  stand 
midway  between  Mount  Adams  and  Mount  Hood. 
We  see  both  those  giants,  two  in  that  sentry  line  of 

192 


THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER 


Titans  watching  along  the  coast,  and  flashing  In  sun- 
Hght,  the  glacier-fed  stream  to  which  Hood  gives 
its  name,  and  on  the  opposite  hand  emerging  from  a 
shaggy  glen,  the  White  Salmon  River,  born  amid  the 
snow-wreaths  of  Adams. 

It  is  a  delightful  walk,  at  morn  or  eve,  up  the 
steep  hill-path.  The  woods  are  vocal  with  the  songs 
of  birds.  We  see  the  showy  plumage  of  the  Balti- 
more oriole  and  the  fluttering  wings  of  the  jay, 
"that  noisy  coxcomb,  in  his  light-blue  coat  and  white 
underclothes,"  as  he  swings  on  the  branches  of  the 
blossomed  syringa. 

Past  the  mouth  of  Hood  River  the  Columbia 
spreads  out  like  a  lake,  mirroring  the  passing  clouds, 
and  with  hardly  a  motion  perceptible  in  the  slowly 
moving  waters. 

HEIGHTS  OF  GIBRALTAR.  OR  UPPER  CAPE  HORN 

This  is  one  of  the  many  bluffs  along  the  river 
around  which  the  train  passes  on  a  road  that  has  been 
cut  away  from  the  base  of  a  cliff.  The  singularity 
of  this  bluff  is  its  isolation;  it  stands  like  the  end  of 
a  massive  wall  suddenly  terminating  at  the  river 
edge.  At  right-angles  with  the  bluff  is  the  placid 
river  surface,  here  calm  and  reflecting  the  high  rocks 
and  line  of  trees  in  its  passing  waters — the  very 
scene  that  a  painter  would  choose  to  express  grandeur 
in  repose. 

We  are  about  to  pass  along  perhaps  the  most 
picturesque  region  in  this  part  of  the  West;  sailing  by 

193 


^H 

^^ft^^^^^^t^^^M 

|H 

flr 

^■Hf^^^^HB '  ^^B 

^f 

'  '^m^Km 

'^S 

M^^^^^^KT 

~~H 

'T'v^^l 

THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER 


kaleidoscopic  changes  of  scenery;  little  towns,  bluffs, 
tree-covered  islands  and  shores;  by  reaches  of  the 
river  where  it  lies  calm;  and  by  rapids  and  cascades 
where  it  roars  over  the  rocky  ledges;  by  sawmills 
and  fish  wheels;  by  towering  mountains;  past  the 
entrances  to  mossy  glens,  and  past  cliffs  with  white 
foamy  waterfalls  dangling  from  the  heights. 

OLD  BLOCK  HOUSE.  NEAR  CASCADES 

Many  a  tale  could  the  old  Block  House  tell,  did 
but  its  warped  timbers  possess  a  voice — tales  of 
rapid  innovations  since  first  it  stood  on  the  mound- 
top.  Few^  are  the  years  that  have  passed  since  then, 
in  comparison  with  the  changes  that  the  place  has 
known,  and  few^,  indeed,  since  the  river  sped  on  in 
solitude,  its  broad  tide  untraversed  save  by  the  light 
canoe,  and  the  silence  unbroken  save  by  the  red 
man's  voice,  the  dash  of  the  waters,  or,  at  times,  the 
rolling  thunder,  the  long  howl  of  the  wolf  beneath 
the  moon,  or  the  eagle  screaming  as  he  mounted 
toward  the  sun,  above  the  forest-robed  cliffs. 

Now,  this  is  changed.  The  white  man  is  sovereign. 
His  fire-boats  breast  the  stream;  his  home  stands  in 
every  bend  of  the  river  where  once  the  smoke  from 
the  camp-fire  arose;  and  the  Indian  looks  sullenly 
on.  Yet  the  old  Block  House  tells  that  not  without 
a  struggle  did  he  yield  the  land  of  his  fathers,  to  be 
under  the  sw^ay  of  the  pale-face. 

Perhaps,  when  more  years  have  passed  away,  and 
the  land  knows  its  elder  inhabitants  no  more,  we  may 

195 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

forget  what  now  makes  them  worthless  in  our  eyes, 
and,  remembering  that  in  our  might  we  wrested  from 
them  their  lands — existence  itself — think  only  of 
them  with  pity,  only  of  the  simple  joys  and  sorrows 
of  a  primitive  race. 

AT  THE  CASCADES 

A  showery  day,  w^ith  its  effects  of  sunshine  and 
shadow,  along  the  river  banks  makes  its  rugged  and 
romantic  scenery  doubly  attractive.  Until  we  reach 
Hood  River,  we  see  many  a  lava  wall  on  either  side 
of  the  stream,  and,  all  wet  with  the  passing  showers, 
they  are  of  a  purple-black  color  with  reddish  mark- 
ings where  they  have  been  freshly  broken.  Along 
the  tops  the  dry  buffalo  grass  is  of  a  tarnished  old- 
gold,  or  old-gold  glazed  with  burnt  sienna,  and  the 
contrast  this  makes  when  relieved  against  the  rainy 
clouds,  of  a  cold  neutral  tint,  and  this  again  with 
the  warm  green-gray  of  the  river  is  pleasing  to  the 
artistic  eye. 

At  certain  points  along  the  Columbia  we  are  con- 
stantly reminded  of  the  Hudson,  though  it  is 
questioned  whether  the  latter  has  such  wild  and 
rugged  mountain  banks,  or  is  such  a  mighty  current. 
When  we  are  between  the  towering  bastions  of  the 
Cascade  Range,  there  is  nothing  comparable  to  it 
on  the  eastern  river. 

Above  the  Cascade  Locks  the  river  has  widened 
out  until  it  resembles  a  lake.  In  this  still  water  is  a 
picturesque  little  island,  pine  covered.  Below  the 
locks  the  river  starts  suddenly  away  down   a  steep 

196 


THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER 


incline,  all  in  rushing  rapids,  flinging  up  foam  and 
filling  the  air  with  a  roar  of  sound.  Across  the  still 
water  above  the  locks  we  see  the  river  boats  gliding 
toward  their  pier  on  the  Washington  side.  The  old 
Block  House  is  seen  perched  upon  an  eminence  by 
the  river  side,  and  the  whole  of  this  fine  scene  is 
backed  by  a  noble  mass  of  mountain  called  the 
Eagle  Crag. 

A  FISH  WHEEL 

There  will  be  few^,  if  any,  more  interesting  sights 
to  the  tourist  from  the  East  than  the  various  fish 
wheels  in  operation  along  the  Columbia;  and,  if,  in 
addition  to  the  catching  of  salmon,  the  visitor  should 
be  fortunate  enough  to  witness  the  capture  of  a  big 
sturgeon,  it  would  be  something  to  remember.  The 
writer  witnessed  the  capture  of  three  sturgeon,  and 
can  certify  to  the  interest  of  the  operation.  The 
largest  of  these  was  over  400  pounds  in  weight,  and 
lacked  but  three  inches  of  being  eleven  feet  in  length. 
It  is  affirmed  by  an  official  fisherman  that  on  one 
memorable  occasion  forty  sturgeon  were  captured 
in  a  single   morning. 

The  roe  of  the  fish  is  put  up  in  kegs  and  exported 
to  Russia,  where,  as  every  one  knows,  it  is  a  favorite 
dish.  Thus  the  sturgeon  that  come  up  the  river 
furnish  the  caviar  which  competes  with  that  taken 
from  fish  which  come  up  the  Volga  from  the  Cas- 
pian  Sea. 

Considerable  fishing  is  done  for  sturgeon  in  the 
winter  time.     Salted  lamprey  can   be  seen  barreled 

197 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

to  be  used  as  bait  in  the  fishing,  which  is  done  at 
the  breathing  holes  of  the  river,  and  the  lamprey  is  a 
bait  at  which  the  sturgeon  never  fail  to  bite. 

Dipping  for  salmon  may  be  seen  at  several  points 
along  the  river,  most  notably  at  Cascade  Locks. 
This  is  a  rather  dangerous  but  very  lucrative  method 
of  fishing. 

ECHO  CLIFF  AND  BAY 

As  we  pass  Echo  Bay,  beneath  the  cliff  of  hexago- 
nal, columnar  basalt  we  surely  acquire  enough  of 
the  grand  and  romantic. 

Rocks  sublime  to  human  art  a  sportive  semblance  bore, 

And  yellow  lichens  covered  all  the  clime 

Like  moonlit  battlements,  and  towns  decayed  by  time. 

This  great  cliff  is  the  last  of  all  those  towering  ram- 
parts that  the  traveler  has  passed  by  since  leaving 
Hood  River.  Between  these  bastions,  running  back 
to  the  snow  cave  of  Hood,  are  found  the  glens  in 
which  are  the  numerous  beautiful  falls  that 
empty  their  waters  into  the  Columbia.  Latourelle, 
Bridal  Veil,  Multnomah,  Horse  Tail  Falls,  and 
Oneonta  Gorge  or  Glen,  and  the  superb  falls  in  the 
glen  close  by  Bonneville — all  of  these  come  pour- 
ing down  between  walls  "wild  and  mossed  and 
hoary,  '  and  they  are  surrounded  by  various  kinds  of 
foliage,  drooping,  clinging,  climbing,  a  wilderness  of 
soft,  green  leaves. 

Echo  Cliff  and  Bay  is  close  by  Rooster  Rock,  one 
of  the  most  famous  landmarks  on  the  Columbia. 

198 


THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER 


MOUNT  ST.  HELENS 

Out  from  the  frowning  cliffs  the  noble  Columbia 
winds  across  the  plains.  Its  banks  are  thickly  wooded 
and  one  might  imagine  that  this  was  the  current  of 
the  middle  Mississippi  were  it  not  for  the  sight  of 
those  two  mighty  domes,  covered  with  shining  snow, 
that  arise  in  the  distance  on  either  hand — on  the 
left  the  graceful  cone  of  Mount  Hood,  and  on 
the  right  the  St.  Helens  showing  over  a  low,  level 
bulwark  of  hills. 

A  beautiful  and  a  wonderful  sight  that — the  two 
old  volcano  cones,  facing  each  other  across  the 
wooded  valleys,  with  the  broad  rolling  Columbia 
between! 

How  faintly  flushed,   how  phantom  fair 

show  the  two  mountains  above  the  cottonwood  trees. 
Perhaps  we  are  more  impressed  by  seeing  them 
thus,  than  when  we  first  saw  them  from  farther  up 
the  stream.  If  the  mountains  were  deadly  enemies 
in  the  old  days,  as  the  Indian  legends  tell,  there  is 
little  to  show  it  now.  Green  look  the  valleys  at 
their  feet,  and  softly  white  their  summits.  Yet  from 
the  valley  of  the  Willamette,  there  must  have  been 
strange  sights,  when  the  fierce  cannonadings  were 
going  on  from  these  old  earth  rents. 

THE  LOWER  COLUMBIA 

While  the  Upper  Columbia  abounds  in  scenery 
of    wild    and    picturesque   beauty,    the   tourist   must 

199 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

by  no  means  neglect  a  trip  down  the  lower 
river  from  Portland  to  Astoria  and  llwaco  and  the 
numerous  resorts  on  the  beach.  The  facilities  offered 
by  the  splendid  fleet  of  steamers  of  the  Oregon  Rail- 
road &  Navigation  Company  render  this  a  delightful 
excursion.  On  a  clear  day  one  may  enjoy,  at  the 
junction  of  the  Willamette  with  the  Columbia,  a 
wonderful  sight — five  mountain  peaks  are  in  view: 
St.  Helens,  Mount  Jefferson,  Mount  Adams,  Mount 
Hood,  and  Mount  Rainier. 

Small  villages  and  landing  places  line  the  shores, 
almost  too  numerous  to  mention.  There  are,  of  the 
more  important,  St.  Johns,  St.  Helens,  Columbia  City, 
Kalama,  Rainier,  Westport,  Cathlamet,  Knappa,  and 
Astoria  at  the  mouth,  a  busy  place.  Salmon  can- 
neries there  are  without  number.  It  is  about  98  miles 
by  the  chart  from  Portland  to  Astoria.  Across  the 
bay  is  the  pretty  town  of  llwaco.  Fort  Canby  and 
Cape  Disappointment  look  across  to  Fort  Stevens 
and  Point  Adams.  Across  the  bar  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river,  the  breakers  sweep  with  terrible  force,  and 
here  the  Government  has  built  jetties  far  out  to  sea, 
and  deepened  the  channel,  so  that  ships  from  the 
Orient  slip  safely  through,  ascend  the  broad  stream, 
and  moor  alongside  the  wharves  at  Portland.  From 
Astoria  one  may  drive  or  go  by  rail  1 8  miles  to  Clatsop 
Beach,  famous  for  its  clams,  crab,  and  trout. 


NOTE:  For  full  and  detailed  information  see  "The  Columbia  River 
from  Source  to  Sea,"  published  by  the  Passenger  Department,  Union  Pacific 
Railroad. 


APPLE   LAND 

"How  little  thought  is  given  to  commonplace 
things  may  be  illustrated  by  the  apple.  We  could, 
perhaps,  jot  down  off-hand  more  facts  about  the  date 
or  fig,  the  olive,  the  banana,  or  the  orange.  To  most 
of  us  apples  are  just  apples — big  and  little,  red  and 
green,  fresh  and  dried. 

"We  have  always  been  intimate  with  them  and  so 
we  have  never  given  them  a  thought.  As  boys  we 
have  climbed  the  easy  trunks  of  the  old  trees,  stolen 
the  windfall,  and  stoned  the  beauty  'way  out  on  the 
bending  branch  'til  it  capitulated,  or  the  man  got 
after  us. 

"And  yet  we  should  know  much  about  this  abun- 
dant product  as  it  is  the  most  important  one  of  the 
temperate  zones;  and  indeed  it  is  the  only  fruit  that 
has  passed  the  bounds  of  luxury  and  become  a  staple 
article. 

"No  fruit  of  today  is  of  more  ancient  lineage,  none 
more  aristocratic  in  associations  of  the  past  or  more 
revered  in  remote  times;  none  that  has  responded 
more  luxuriously  to  the  wiles  of  cultivation. 

"That  they  were  cultivated  by  the  Lake  Dwellers 
of  Switzerland  in  the  Age  of  Stone  is  evidenced  by 
finding  carbonized  specimens  of  two  varieties,  cut 
lengthwise  and  dried,  in  the  palafittes  of  the  lakes  of 
Neufchatel,  Lombardy,  and  elsewhere. 

"The  folk-lore  of  Germany  and  Scandinavia  is  full 
of  apple  trees  and  golden  apples.     In  Roman  times 


?*i<^&i2& 


APPLE  LAND 


their  cultivation  reached  a  high  pitch;  the  quality 
and  productiveness  increased  by  grafting. 

"We  all  recall  the  familiar  biblical  expressions: 
'Keep  law  as  the  apple  of  thine  eye;'  '1  raised  thee 
up  under  an  apple  tree;'  'Apples  of  gold  in  pictures 
of  silver;'  'Comfort  me  with  apples,'  etc. 

"Shakespeare  in  'The  Tempest'  makes  a  char- 
acter say:  'He  will  carry  this  island  home  in  his 
pocket  and  give  it  to  his  son  for  an  apple.'  In 
'Merchant  of  Venice'  he  likens  a  villain  with  a 
smiling  cheek  to  'a  goodly  apple  rotten  at  the 
heart.'  Another  of  this  poet's  references  identifies 
the  pippin,  which  seems  ever  to  have  been  a 
superior  variety,  as  thus:  'You  shall  see  mine 
orchard,  where  in  an  arbor  we  will  eat  last  year's 
pippins  of  my  own  grafting.' 

"Milton,  as  we  remember,  terms  the  fruit  of  the 
tree  of  knowledge  apples,  and  Dore  thus  pictures  it. 

"In  Pliny's  time  the  Romans  had  twenty-two  varie- 
ties and  he  asserted  'There  are  apples  that  have 
ennobled  the  countries  whence  they  came  .  .  .  our 
best  apples  will  immortalize  their  first  grafters  forever.' 

"The  old  Saxon  coronation  benediction  read: 
'Bless,  O  Lord,  the  courage  of  this  prince,  and 
prosper  the  work  of  his  hands;  and  by  Thy  blessing 
may  this  land  be  filled  with  apples,  with  the  fruit 
and  dew  of  heaven,  from  the  top  of  the  ancient 
mountains,  from  the  apples  of  the  eternal  hills,  from 
the  fruits  of  the  earth  and  its  fullness.' 

"Apples  were  held  in  high  honor  and  reverence 
by  the  earliest  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain.     On  the 

203 


THE  EMPIRE  OF   THE  WEST 

eve  of  Epiphany  the  farmer  and  his  workmen,  with  a 
large  pitcher  of  cider,  went  to  the  orchard  and  there, 
encircling  one  of  the  best  bearing  trees,  drank  the 
following  toast: 

"Here's  to  the  old  apple  tree. 
Whence  thou  may'st  budd,  and  whence  thou  may'st  blow; 
And  whence  thou  may'st  bear  apples  enow; 
Hats  full!     Caps  full! 
Bushel — bushel — sacks  full 
And  my  pockets  full  too!  Huzza! 

"In  its  wild  state  the  apple  tree  (commonly  called 
the  crab)  is  found  over  a  considerable  portion  of 
Europe.  Its  native  region  is  generally  conceded  to 
be  southern  Europe.  It  was  brought  to  England 
by  the  Romans,  and  to  this  country  by  the  French 
Jesuits. 

"Very  early  in  the  history  of  horticulture  the 
apple  attracted  attention  by  its  improvability;  that  is 
to  say  it  belongs  to  the  class  of  culture  plants. 
Among  others  cultivated  in  the  middle  ages  were 
Bitter  Sweets,  mentioned  by  Chaucer. 

"In  1688  there  were  seventy-eight  varieties  culti- 
vated in  the  neighborhood  of  London,  and  since 
then  there  have  been  developed  about  tw^o  thou- 
sand varieties. 

"Generally  speaking  the  apple  is  indifferent  to 
locality;  it  will  grow  anywhere.  It  has  followed 
civilization  in  this  country  from  New  England  to 
the  Pacific;  if  we  are  to  believe  the  story  of  John 
Apple-Seed,  it  got  a  great  part  of  the  way  far  in 
advance  of  it. 

204 


APPLE  LAND 


"John,  so  the  legend  goes,  was  a  simple-hearted 
body,  who  loved  to  roam  through  the  forects  of  the 
Northwest  in  advance  of  his  fello^vs  consorting 
alternately  with  the  red  man  and  the  white.  He 
was  esteemed  by  those  w^ho  knew  him,  a  vagabond 
w^ho  just  loafed.  He  had  his  use  in  the  world, 
however. 

"When  among  white  folks  he  saved  the  seeds  of 
all  the  best  apples  he  met  with,  and  carefully  pre- 
served and  carried  them  with  him.  When  far  away 
from  his  white  friends  he  would  select  an  open  spot 
of  ground,  prepare  the  soil  and  plant  the  seeds  upon 
the  principle,  perhaps,  of  the  old  Spanish  custom 
that  he  ow^ed  so  much  to  posterity. 

"It  is  probable  that  the  trees  credited  to  John 
Apple-Seed  were  those  planted  by  the  Jesuits. 

"Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  grew  apples  at  a 
very  early  period  and  New  York  received  them  from 
those  States.  In  turn,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Wisconsin, 
and  Iowa  took  them  from  New  York;  and  thus 
gradually  they  meandered  to  California,  Washington, 
and  Oregon,  where  they  have  attained  their  greatest 
commercial  value  which  must  be  accepted  as  the 
best  estimate  of  their  quality. 

"There  are  about  a  dozen  essentials  to  a  good 
apple,  in  addition  to  productiveness,  such  as  rich- 
ness (the  relative  proportions  of  sugar  and  acid), 
flavor,  firmness,  color,  form,  size,  uniformity,  culinary 
qualities,  good  keeping,  etc. 

"In  rapidly  running  over  this  subject  we  find  there 
are  many  varieties  of  good  apples,  and  of    the  good 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

ones  the  pippins  seem  in  all  ages  and  at  present  to 
be  preferred. 

"It  gives  an  idea,  too,  of  the  development  of  lan- 
guage from  the  crude  slang  of  the  barn  and  field  to 
the  aristocracy  of  the  dictionary.  When  we  hear  the 
term  pippin  applied  to  a  person  or  thing,  it  seems 
the  highest  sort  of  compliment;  it  is  the  superlative 
of  estimate. 

"All  adown  the  ages  the  apple  has  been  notable 
among  the  families  of  fruit.  Beneath  the  branches 
of  the  first  of  its  kind  Adam  whispered  the  'sweetest 
story  ever  told,'  and  this  same  old  story,  ever  new 
to  willing  ears,  may  be  heard  today  under  'the  shade 
of  the  old  apple  tree.'   " — George  DeHaven. 


Thanks,  just  and  eloquent  historian  and  eulogist! 

After  the  panegyric  we  may  deal  with  certain 
unpoetical  but  important  statistics  which  will  be 
taken,  commercially,  as  "in  praise  of  the  apple.  " 
Both  Kansas  and  Nebraska  grow  heavy  apple  crops, 
and  Colorado  has  won  name  and  fame  as  a  producer; 
Wyoming,  not  of  age  yet,  is  making  a  wonderful 
showing;  and  Utah  is  remembered  and  blessed  by 
every  old  mountaineer  who  recalls  the  sixties,  when 
"Salt  Lake  apples  and  peaches  "  were  the  only  taste 
of  Heaven  between  the  Missouri  River  and  the  Pacific 
Coast.  And  Idaho  was  the  blue  ribbon  winner  for 
apples  at  the  World's  Fair,  Chicago. 

The  use  of  the  "personal  testimonial  "  is  as  a  rule 
to  be  deprecated,  smacking  as  it  does  of  patent  medi- 

206 


APPLE  LAND 


cine  cure-alls,  but  tKe  straightforward  story  of  the 
"Man  on  the  Ground"  is  the  nearest  we  can  get  to 
the  severe  truth  when  discussing  any  form  of  agri- 
culture or  horticulture.  Here  are  a  few  letters 
addressed  to  the  Boise  Commercial  Club: 

Gentlemen:  Replying  to  your  inquiry  concerning 
my  prune  crops  for  the  season  of  1905  and  1906, 
would  say  that  I  bought  80  acres  of  land  4  miles 
from  Boise  in  1893,  paying  therefor  $30  per  acre. 
I  set  40  acres  of  the  same  to  prunes.  Our  1905 
crop  grossed  us  $7,71  2.33,  and  the  1906  crop  grossed 
us  $7,529.98.  Yours  truly, 

A.  V.  EICHELBERGER. 

Gentlemen:  Replying  to  your  inquiry  concerning 
my  most  successful  crop,  and  original  cost  of  land, 
would  say  that  I  bought  10  acres  one  and  one-half 
miles  from  Boise  in  1900,  paying  therefor  $50  per 
acre.  In  1906  I  raised  20,000  boxes  of  strawberries 
on  3  acres  of  ground  which  I  sold  at  an  average  price 
of  8  cents  per  box,  or  about  $533  per  acre. 

Believing  this  covers  the  points  on  which  you 
desired  information,  I  remain. 

Yours  truly, 

S.  F.  RUSSELL. 

Gentlemen:  Replying  to  your  inquiry,  would  say 
I  took  an  eight-year  lease  on  160  acres  of  ground  2i 
miles  from  the  postoffice  five  years  ago.  At  that  time 
1  was  offered  this  land  at  $75  per  acre.  Similar  land 
in  this  location  i&  now  selling  at  $200  to  $300  per 
acre.  In  1905, 1  planted  6  acres  to  potatoes  and  sold 
the  crop  for  $1,780,  and  saved  about  $300  worth  for 
my  own  use  and  seeding.  In  1906  I  planted  15 
acres  in  potatoes  and  realized  from  it  $3,760,  and 
saved  about  $300  worth  for  my  own  use  and  seeding. 

207 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

In  1906  I  planted  a  field  of  60  acres  in  oats,  and 
they  averaged  103  bushels  per  acre. 

Yours  truly, 

A.  P.  WOLFE. 

Gentlemen:  Replying  to  your  inquiry  concerning 
my  most  successful  crop,  original  cost  of  land,  and 
present  value,  would  say  I  bought  25  acres  in  March, 
1900,  about  7  miles  from  Boise,  on  the  mesa,  paying 
$20  per  acre  for  raw  land;  same  land  is  now  selling  at 
$100  per  acre  unimproved  and  up  to  $300  improved. 

In  1906  I  sold  12,798  quarts  of  strawberries  on 
IJ  acres  for  first  crop  and  2,280  quarts  for  second 
crop,  marketing  as  late  as  November  17,  1906. 

My  total  gross  income  from  berries  from  this  IJ 
acres  was  $1,196.73  for  the  season  of  1906.  This 
does  not  include  berries  used  at  home  and  berries 
used  by  pickers,  who  have  free  use  of  all  the 
berries  they  want  for  lunch  while  picking,  which 
would  make  300  or  more  quarts. 

Yours  truly, 

JOHN  H.  WAIT. 

The  orchard  of  Dr.  H.  P.  Ustick,  a  few  miles 
from  Boise,  with  33  acres  of  Italian  prunes,  yielded 
the  owner  last  year  a  net  return  of  $10,000.  For  the 
prune  crop  from  3  acres,  crated  on  the  tract,  its 
owner,  Mr.  Limtchger,  received  $2,800.  One  little 
orchard  of  2  acres,  belonging  to  E.  H.  Heller, 
produced  $600  in  prunes,  loose,  in  1908.  In  the 
years  of  bearing,  the  orchard  has  n.ever  failed  to  yield 
a  full  crop. 

Six  years  ago  O.  M.  Wolfe  paid  for  10  acres  in 
the  Boise  Valley,  in  the  sagebrush,  but  with  water 
supplied,    $1,100.      He     began    at   once    to  improve 

208 


APPLE  LAND 


his  land,  setting  out  fruit  trees  and  berries.  Today 
he  has  9  acres  of  orchard  just  coming  to  bearing, 
6  acres  of  apples,  3  of  prunes,  cherries,  and  apricots. 
Among  the  young  trees  he  has  2  acres  of  strawberries 
and  the  other  bush  berries.  Last  year  he  took  from 
the  place  $1,500  in  strawberries,  $200  in  other 
berries,  6  tons  of  timothy,  besides  all  that  he  needed 
for  his  own  living.  His  profits  were  well  over  $  1 ,000. 
Out  of  his  profits  for  six  years  he  has  built  a  house 
worth  $3,000.  He  has  two  good  horses,  keeps  a 
cow,  chickens,  etc.,  and  lives  like  a  lord.  He  is  rear- 
ing a  family  of  three  children,  has  money  in  the  bank, 
and  has  refused  $10,000  for  his  place. 

THE  STORY  OF  A  WELL  DIGGER 

William  W.  Hufton  is  a  young  German  mechanic. 
His  10  acres  of  land  cost  him  $2,000  eight  years 
ago,  and  he  went  in  debt  to  buy  it.  During  the  eight 
years  he  worked  at  his  trade — digging  wells  of  late 
years — and  developed  this  land.  This  year  he  has 
6  acres  of  alfalfa,  H  acres  in  raspberries,  one-half 
acre  in  strawberries.  His  hay  will  yield  $150,  his 
strawberries  $100,  the  other  berries  $200.  A  flock 
of  100  hens  and  300  chickens  will  yield  over  $100 
and  "chicken  every  day  for  lunch."  Besides  he 
feeds  two  horses  and  a  cow.  He  has  built  a  good 
two-story  cement  house  and  has  bought  a  fine  touring 
car.       It  will  take  $10,000  to  buy  his  place. 

An  acre  of  apple  trees,  in  full  bearing,  will  yield 
three   to   four  hundred  boxes   a  year  of   fancy  fruit, 

209 


APPLE  LAND 


and  on  many  tracts  double  or  treble  that.  By  "fancy" 
is  meant  of  large  size,  symmetrical,  and  free  from 
bruise  or  blemish.  These  will  bring  from  $1.50  to 
$2  per  box  and  up.  The  "seconds,"  and  the  culls 
used  for  cider  and  vinegar,  will  easily  pay  all  the 
expenses  of  a  commercial  orchard,  so  that  there  turns 
from  the  fancy  fruit  are  a  clear  profit. 

Three  hundred  dollars  an  acre  is  a  most  con- 
servative estimate  for  the  net  returns  from  an  orchard 
of  good  varieties,  properly  handled,  in  the  Boise 
Valley. 

BOISE-PAYETTE  IRRIGATION  PROJECT 

This  is  one  of  the  largest  irrigation  projects  the 
Government  has  undertaken  under  the  Reclamation 
Act,  and  contemplates  a  total  expenditure  of  about 
$11,000,000.  Nearly  $2,000,000  has  already  been 
appropriated,  and  contracts  have  been  let  for  its 
expenditure. 

A  dam  across  the  Boise  River,  about  eight  miles 
above  Boise,  is  being  built;  a  canal  40  feet  wide  in 
the  bottom,  80  at  the  top,  and  12  feet  deep  is  being 
constructed,  to  carry  the  water  out  onto  the  land  and 
store  it  in  the  Deer  Flat  reservoir,  some  25  miles  east 
of  Boise,  and  other  smaller  reservoirs  along  the  line. 
When  this  system  is  completed  there  w^ill  be  305,000 
acres  of  land  in  cultivation  in  the  Boise  Valley,  where 
there  are  100,000  acres  in  partial  cultivation  at  the 
present  time. 

Although  Great  Britain  has  for  ages  given  great 
attention' to    apple   cultivation   and    produces    large 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

quantities  and  numerous  varieties,  yet  the  people 
over  there  esteem  the  American  Newton  Pippin  most 
of  all,  giving  also  much  praise  to  the  William's 
Favorite,  Astrakhan,  Gravenstein,  Baldwin,  and 
Spitzenbergen. 

According  to  official  reports,  Great  Britain  took 
from  us  1,208,909  barrels  of  apples,  the  value  given 
being  $3,751,375. 

That  they  are  a  notable  factor  in  staple  produc- 
tion is  demonstrated  by  an  annual  crop  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada  of  about  one  hundred  million 
barrels.  This  country  is  not  only  forging  ahead  in 
volume,  but  in  quality.  As  related  to  the  product  of 
orchard  fruits  the  apple  has  attained  55  per  cent  of 
the  total  in  trees  and  82.8  per  cent  of  product. 

As  to  the  excellence  in  quality,  the  product  last 
year  of  Yellow  Newton  Pippins  grown  on  less  than 
an  acre  in  the  Rogue  River  Valley,  Oregon,  which 
is  about  350  miles  south  of  Portland,  was  815  boxes 
(about  one  bushel  each)  and  the  lot  was  sold  in 
London  at  a  net  price  to  the  grow^er  of  $1,711.50. 
The  particular  3-acre  orchard  from  which  this  fruit 
was  taken  produced  an  average  of  $500  an  acre 
a  year  for  the  past  eight  years. 

In  1905  a  lot  was  sold  in  London  at  $5.43;  1,000 
boxes  were  sold  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  at  $4.83  per 
box;  at  the  same  time  apples  grown  in  Scotland  were 
selling  at  30  cents  a  bushel. 

In  1907  an  orchard  of  8  acres,  in  the  same  region, 
near  Ashland,  Oregon,  yielded  6,000  boxes  of  New- 


APPLE  LAND 


ton  Pippins  which  were  sold  at  the  orchard  for 
$2,000  an  acre. 

The  highest  price  ever  paid  for  apples  from  any 
orchard  in  the  United  States  was  for  Hood  River, 
Spitzenbergens,  and  Newtons — the  former  ranging 
from  $2.60  to  $3— and  the  latter  from  $2.25  to 
$2.50  per  bushel  box. 

Among  the  recent  notable  purchases  of  this 
Oregon  fruit  land  was  a  $35,000  tract  bought  by 
Mrs.  Potter  Palmer  for  her  son. 

In  California,  100  miles  south  of  San  Francisco, 
there  are  great  orchards  from  which  are  shipped 
annually  1,000  cars  of  apples  to  England,  Germany, 
and  other  European  countries.  It  is  famous  for 
Bellefleurs  and  Pippins. 

Then  there  is  the  Washington  cherry  tree,  which 
has  a  record  of  1,500  pounds  of  Royal  Anne  in  a 
year. 

In  a  letter  to  the  Medford,  Idaho,  Commercial 
Club,  dated  December  7,  1907,  H.  D.  Helms  says: 
"For  the  seven  years  that  I  have  owned  my  apple 
orchard,  my  yearly  average  profits  have  been  $791 
per  acre.  The  orchard  consists  of  between  seven 
and  eight  acres  in  Newton  Pippins.  The  soil  is 
red  hill  land.  This  year  I  marketed  6,000  boxes, 
netting  me  $2,000  per  acre.  1  have  never  failed 
to  get  a  good  crop." 

Fred.  H.  Hopkins  says,  "From  16i  acres  of  Winter 
Nellis  pears  on  my  orchard,  near  Central  Point, 
I  sold,  in  1907,  $19,000  worth  of  pears.  The  pears 
netted  $2.50  a  box  f.  o.  b.  orchard." 

213 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

G.  A.  Hover  purchased  a  10-acre  orchard  near 
Medford  in  June,  1906,  for  $5,600.  The  crops 
for  1905  and  1907  netted  $7,854.34,  leaving 
$2,254.34  clear  above  the  purchase  price.  At  auc- 
tion in  New  York  City,  $4,266.80  for  a  carload  of 
pears  being  546  boxes,  an  average  of  $8.20  per  box, 
was  realized  on  September  30,  1907,  by  Rae  & 
Hatfield  to  whom  this  car  was  consigned  by  the  Bear 
Creek  orchard,  a  few  miles  south  of  Medford. 

S.  L.  Bennett,  2  miles  north  of  Medford,  realized, 
in  1908,  from  24  acres  in  Newton  Pippins  and  Ben 
Davis  apples,  3,500  boxes  of  merchantable  fruit 
which  brought  $5,250  or  $2,100  per  acre. 

The  Portland  Oregonian  of  September  7,  1909, 
contains  this  telegram  from  Hood  River: 

"Joseph  Steinhardt  of  the  commission  firm  of 
Steinhardt  &  Kelly,  the  New  York  firm  that  bought 
the  output  of  the  Hood  River  Apple  Growers  Associa- 
tion last  year,  today  set  the  ball  rolling  again  purchasing 
the  entire  crop  handled  by  the  union  at  a  gross  figure 
that  will  total  over  $150,000.  The  sale  includes 
the  purchase  of  60,000  to  70,000  boxes  of  fancy 
fruit  or  about  125  cars,  and  it  is  claimed  that  it  will 
be  the  biggest  deal  made  this  year  by  one  firm." 

The  following  item  can  not  be  classed  as  an 
"indication"  of  the  trend  in  the  fruit-growing  business 
of  Oregon,  for  it  is  simply  a  sober  recital  of  the  facts 
in  the  case,  and  appeared  in  the  Portland  Oregonian 
of  February  17,  1910: 

MEDFORD,  Ore.,  February  16,  1910.— (Special.) 
— C.  M.  Speck,  of  Spokane,  and  his  associates  have 

214 


APPLE  LAND 


purchased  the  605-acre  orchard  tract  owned  by  Cap- 
tain Gordon  Voorhies,  a  prominent  clubman  of  Port- 
land, known  as  the  Burrell  orchard,  paying  $500,000. 
The  deal  was  closed  late  this  afternoon,  through  John 
D.  Olwell,  and  the  new  owners  will  take  possession 
April  I.  For  a  month  past  negotiations  have  been 
under  way. 

This  is  thought  to  be  the  largest  deal  ever  com- 
pleted in  the  Northwest  in  bearing-orchard  property. 
The  Burrell  orchard  holds  many  of  the  world's  records 
of  this  section.  One  block  of  Yellow  Newtons, 
consisting  of  80  acres  of  8  and  9  year  old  trees,  is 
especially  valuable.  The  orchard  is  situated  2 
miles  south  of  the  paved  streets  of  Medford.  It 
differs  from  most  of  the  pioneer  orchard  tracts  of 
the  valley  in  having  been  planted  with  an  eye  to  the 
future.  It  is  known  as  the  commercial  pioneer 
orchard  of  the  Northwest. 

It  was  to  this  tract  that  J.  H.  Stewart  devoted 
much  of  his  time.  Much  of  it  was  planted  under  his 
direct  supervision. 

One  of  Mr.  Speck's  associates  in  the  venture  is 
M.  G.  Neely,  of  Spokane.  That  Mr.  Neely  should 
turn  his  attention  to  the  Rogue  River  Valley  is  an 
indication  of  the  attention  this  section  is  attracting 
throughout  the  world. 

The  orchard  was  recently  taken  over  by  Captain 
Gordon  Voorhies  from  the  Burrell  Orchard  Company. 
Not  long  ago,  Captain  Voorhies  announced  his  inten- 
tion of  spending  a  portion  of  each  year  personally 
overseeing  the  property,  but  owing  to  its  sale  he  may 
change  his  plans.  Although  this  orchard  has  made 
many  good  records  in  the  past  few  years,  its  record 
for  the  season  just  closed  is  in  itself  a  criterion  of 
what  a  Rogue  River  Valley  orchard  can  do.  The 
orchard  shipped  forty  carloads  of  pears  from  forty- 
eight  acres,  which  averaged  $2  a  box  at  the  orchard, 

215 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

or  $40,000  for  the  crop.  The  Bartletts  netted 
$1,000  an  acre  and  for  the  past  nine  years  have 
netted  $600  an  acre.  One  carload  of  Bartletts  this 
year  sold  for  $4.25  a  box  in  New  York  City,  the  high 
record  of  the  pear  for  Bartletts. 

But  there  are  other  localities  equally  prolific. 
Albany,  in  Linn  County,  Roseburg  and  the  famous 
Umpqua  Valley,  Creswell  at  the  head  of  the  Wil- 
lamette Valley,  Grant's  Pass,  Corvallis,  Hermiston, 
Newberg;  the  Touchet  Valley  in  Washington,  the 
great  Yakima  country;  Wenatchee,  the  home  of  the 
big  red  apple — but  enough  of  facts  and  figures, 
names  and  places.  This  is  Apple  Land — from  the 
Missouri  River  to  the  coast — anywhere  and  every- 
where in  this  peculiarly  forsaken  spot  known  as  the 
"Great  American  Desert!  " 


Twin  Falls,  Idalu 
2l6 


CRATER  LAKE 

Some  day,  when  you  are  in  Portland,  the  "Rose 
City,"  and  breathing  the  soft  ItaUan  air  of  Oregon, 
take  a  run  down  to  Klamath  Falls  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  State,  and  visit  Crater  Lake.  Professor 
LeConte,  the  great  scientist  of  the  University  of 
California,  used  to  say,  "Yellowstone  has  its  glories, 
and  so  has  the  Yosemite  and  Crater  Lake;  but  they 
are  entirely  dissimilar.  You  can  not  compare  unlike 
things.     There  is  but  one  Crater  Lake." 

The  difficulty  of  reaching  Crater  Lake  has  been 
the  chief  obstacle  to  its  fame  and  popularity  in  the 
past.  Originally  it  was  a  pack-train  expedition  of  ten 
or  twelve  days  for  the  round  trip  from  the  nearest 
railroad  point.  Later,  more  or  less  primitive  wagon 
roads  shortened  the  time  and  modified  the  hard- 
ships. Now  it  is  simply  a  matter  of  a  couple  of  days 
in  each  direction;  and  comfortable  conveyances,  with 
still  more  comfortable  places  to  lodge  and  dine,  have 
robbed  the  trip  of  its  terrors  and  made  it  attractive 
and  delightful. 

One  can  now  leave  Portland  by  the  Southern 
Pacific  Sunday  morning  and  arrive  on  the  rim  of  the 
Crater  Wednesday  morning,  traveling  via  Weed,  Cali- 
fornia, and  Klamath  Falls,  a  distance  of  about  580 
miles,  and  all  but  55  by  rail  and  boat. 

The  trip  via  Medford  is  equally  attractive  and 
can  be  made  in  much  shorter  time  though  the  dis- 
tance by  conveyance  is  much  longer.      Leaving  Port- 

217 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

land  at  1:30  o'clock  Sunday  morning  a  party  of  not 
less  than  four,  having  made  previous  arrangements, 
can  reach  the  Crater  by  5:00  p.  m.  on  Monday;  and 
starting  on  return  the  following  morning  can  arrive  in 
Portland  at  11:15  o'clock  Wednesday  night. 

The  location  of  Crater  Lake  is  on  the  summit  and 
in  the  very  heart  of  the  Cascade  Range,  inland  from 
the  coast  by  an  air  line  of  about  115  miles,  and  65 
miles  north  of  Oregon's  southern  boundary,  and 
its  name  describes  it  perfectly.  It  is  a  lake  in  a  huge 
mountain  crater,  whose  extreme  depth  is  approxi- 
mately 2,000  feet,  and  its  walls  rise  abruptly  above  its 
surface  some  2,000  feet  higher  in  irregular  and 
extremely  picturesque  conformations.  So  nearly 
vertical  are  its  walls  in  many  places  that  one  may 
stand  on  the  edge  of  the  rim  and  drop  a  pebble  into 
the  water.  Human  figures  on  the  water's  edge, 
viewed  from  the  Crater's  rim,  appear  like  dark  objects 
hardly  more  than  a  finger's  length. 

The  Crater  is  slightly  elliptical  in  shape  and 
about  5i  miles  in  diameter  at  its  widest  point. 
Near  the  shore  on  the  western  side  a  huge  cinder 
cone,  remarkably  symmetrical  in  form,  rises  845 
feet  above  the  surface  of  the  lake,  and  is  known 
as  Wizard  Island.  This  peculiar  formation  also  has 
a  crater,  but  it  is  only  100  feet  deep  and  most  of 
the  year  contains  snow  instead  of  water.  Near  the 
opposite,  or  eastern,  shore  a  jagged  rock  rises  abruptly 
out  of  the  lake  to  a  height  of  some  sixty  or  seventy 
feet,  and,  because  of  its  striking  resemblance  to  a  full 
rigged  sailing  vessel,  has  been  named  the   Phantom 

2l8 


CRATER  LAKE 


Ship.  These  are  the  only  islands  in  the  lake  and  the 
only  natural  interruptions  in  its  profoundly  placid 
and  solemn  aspect. 

So  far  as  can  be  ascertained  there  is  absolutely 
no  inlet  or  outlet  to  the  lake,  and  its  origin,  the 
source  of  its  phenomenally  pure  and  crystalline 
waters,  and  the  strange  formations  discernible  at 
every  turn,  are  matters  of  mere  conjecture,  even 
among  the  noted  scientists  who  have  made  the  subject 
a  serious  study  for  years.  The  generally  accepted 
theory  is  that  the  mountain  in  which  the  lake  now 
rests  was  at  one  time  a  mighty  volcano  towering  three 
miles  high;  that  after  it  became  spent  it  settled  within 
itself  and  disappeared  taking  w^ith  it  seventeen  cubic 
miles  of  volcanic  matter  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  real  cause,  the 
result  speaks  for  itself.  As  W.  G.  Steel  writes, 
in  the  Crater  Lake  edition  of  Steel  Points:  "The 
overpowering  impressiveness  of  its  grandeur  can  not 
be  described,  and  no  idea  of  its  masterful  influence 
over  the  human  mind  can  be  conveyed  by  words.  It 
must  be  seen  to  be  appreciated.  It  stands  alone  in 
its  class  in  all  this  world.  It  has  no  peer,  no  rival  to 
divide  the  charms,  but  stands  alone,  the  only 
Crater  Lake." 

The  lake  was  first  discovered  in  1853  by  John  A. 
Hillman  and  a  party  of  prospectors.  Because  of  the 
deep  ultramarine  blue  of  its  waters  it  was  then 
named  Deep  Blue  Lake,  but  it  has  since  been  known 
as  Lake  Mystery,  Lake  Majesty,  Hole  in  the  Ground, 
and,  finally.   Crater   Lake,   which  most  natural   name 

219 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

was  given  by  a  party  from  Jacksonville  in  the  summer 
of  1869  and  will  no  doubt  always  be  retained. 

Until  comparatively  recent  date  the  huge  moun- 
tain containing  the  crater  had  no  name.  It  was 
simply  one  of  the  irregular  upheavals  forming  the 
Cascade  Range,  and  diflered  from  numberless  others 
only  in  the  possession  of  this  mysterious  lake.  Dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1896,  the  Mazamas,  a  mountain- 
climbing  club  of  Oregon,  selected  Crater  Lake  for 
their  outing,  and  reached  there  some  seventy-five 
strong  in  August.  On  the  twenty-first  of  the  month 
the  mountain  was  christened  Mount  Mazama  by 
Miss  Fay  Fuller,  one  of  the  party,  and  that  is  now 
its  official  title. 

Although  discovered  at  quite  an  early  period, 
almost  nothing  was  known  of  the  lake  until  1885, 
and  the  limited  fame  it  now  enjoys  is  probably  due 
more  to  the  interest  and  energy  of  W.  G.  Steel,  a 
noted  mountaineer  and  writer  of  Oregon,  than  to  any 
other  agency.  In  the  summer  of  1885  Mr.  Steel 
started  a  movement  to  secure  a  National  Park  w^hich 
would  include  Crater  Lake,  and  in  January  following 
President  Cleveland  signed  a  proclamation  withdraw- 
ing ten  townships  from  the  market.  Because  of  a 
strong  opposition,  however,  no  bill  passed  Congress 
and  the  project  lay  dormant  for  many  years.  During 
the  session  of  1901-2  it  was  again  set  in  motion,  and 
by  dint  of  a  most  vigorous  campaign,  supported  by 
the  entire  press  and  populace  of  Oregon,  a  bill  was 
passed  and  signed  May  22,  1902,  creating  the  Crater 
Lake  National  Park.     Since  then  it  has  been  under 


CRATER  LAKE 


Federal  supervision,  and,  although  little  has  been 
expended  as  yet  in  its  improvement,  it  will  in  due 
time  no  doubt  receive  its  proportionate  share  of 
National  favor  along  with  Yellowstone,  Yosemite, 
and  the  rest  of  Uncle  Sam's  playgrounds. 

As  is  nearly  always  the  case  with  the  singularly 
weird  creations  of  Nature,  the  early  history  of  Crater 
Lake  is  blended  with  legend  and  myth.  The  Indians 
were  awe  stricken  in  its  presence  and  approached  it 
with  fear  and  trembling.  They  believed  it  to  be  the 
dwelling  place  of  the  Great  Spirit  and  inhabited  by 
monsters  called  "llaos.  "  Not  until  very  recently 
have  their  superstitions  faded  and  they  have  dared  to 
visit  and  enjoy  its  beauties  freely. 

Nor  is  this  fact  surprising.  To  this  day — and  it 
will  probably  always  be  so- — -the  scene  exerts  a 
strange  influence  over  those  who  gaze  upon  it  for 
the  first  time.  Sometimes  the  sensation  may  be 
likened  to  terror,  which  wears  away  only  after 
repeated  or  prolonged  visits.  Then,  as  the  mind 
begins  to  grasp  the  reality,  the  grandeur  and  majesty 
of  the  scene  is  supreme. 


ON  THE  HEIGHTS 

They  say  in  Colorado  that  there  are  in  the  State 
one  hundred  mountain  peaks  (more  or  less)  over 
10,000  feet  high.  It  may  be  so,  for  there  are  peaks 
to  spare  in  that  commonwealth  of  mountain  grandeurs. 
There  seems  to  be  a  never-ending  procession  of 
lonely  summits  from  the  Wyoming  line  to  the  plains 
of  the  Panhandle  in  Texas.  Some  are  inaccessible 
and  well  nigh  unapproachable.  Others,  in  spite  of 
their  splendid  fame,  are  "base,  common,  and  popular." 
Pike's  Peak,  the  giant  of  the  range,  has  a  cog  road 
riveted  to  his  hoary  sides;  McClellan  has  a  switch- 
back, and  other  lesser  lights  are  harnessed  with  the 
ignominy  of  "easy  ascent."  By  virtue  of  his  royal 
origin,  a  mountain  demands  homage,  toil,  heroic  exer- 
tion, to  come  into  the  inner  presence  and  speak  face 
to  face.  And  the  imperial  order  of  Mountain 
Monarchs  is  magnificently  represented  in  the  Empire 
of  the  West  along  the  Union  Pacific  and  allied  lines. 
All  over  Colorado,  Wyoming,  and  Utah,  the  Cascade 
Range  and  the  Sierras,  these  watchers  of  the  sky, 
"thrust  up  themselves  for  shows" — as  rugged  old 
Chapman  translates  Homer's  sonorous  line. 

WHITNEY  AND  SHASTA 

The  Pacific  Coast  region  from   the    Mexican  line 
to    Alaska    fairly    bristles    with    these    "Princes    of 

233 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

the  Range.  "  Mount  Whitney,  near  the  southern 
extremity  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  Hf  ts  its  helmet-shaped 
crest  to  a  height  of  nearly  14,700  feet.  Far  to  the 
north  500  miles  away,  Shasta,  a  colossal  volcanic 
cone,  rises  14,440  feet  above  sea  level,  marking  the 
northern  extremity  of  the  range.  "Just  below  the 
summit  of  Shasta,"  says  John  Muir,  "hot,  sulphurous 
gases  and  vapor  issue  from  irregular  fissures,  mingled 
with  spray  derived  from  melting  snow,  the  last  feeble 
expression  of  the  mighty  force  that  built  the  moun- 
tain. Not  in  one  great  convulsion  was  Shasta  given 
birth.  The  crags  of  the  summit  and  the  sections 
exposed  by  the  glaciers  down  the  sides  display  enough 
of  its  internal  framework  to  prove  that  compara- 
tively long  periods  of  quiescence  intervened  between 
many  distinct  eruptions,  during  w^hich  the  cooling  lava 
ceased  to  flow,  and  became  permanent  additions  to 
the  bulk  of  the  growing  mountain — eruption  succeed- 
ing eruption.  .  .  .  It  is  know^n  that  more  than 
a  thousand  years  of  cool  calm  have  intervened 
between  violent  eruptions.  Like  gigantic  geysers 
spouting  molten  rock  instead  of  water,  volcanoes  work 
and  rest,  and  we  have  no  sure  means  of  knowing 
whether  they  are  dead  when  still,  or  only  sleeping." 
But  what  a  celestial  railroad  ride  that  is — coming 
down  from  the  golden  fruit  lands  of  southern  Oregon, 
rising  to  the  lower  slopes  of  the  throne,  and  then  to 
wind  for  half  the  day  around  the  feet  of  mighty 
Shasta;  traveling  labyrinths  of  wooded  heights — flash- 
ing over  many  a  mountain  stream,  and  then  at  sunset 
falling   by  gentle   gradations  to  the  citrus   belt  calm 

224 


ON  THE  HEIGHTS 


of  upper  California,  and  farther  on  to  dream  dreams 
in  the  tranquil  summerland  of  the  Sacramento  Valley. 
That  Shasta  route  trip  from  Portland  to  San  Francisco 
is  one  of    the   never-to-be-forgotten   memories. 


MOUNT  HOOD 

Oregon  and  Washington  are  veritable  mountain 
paradises.  From  the  deck  of  a  steamer  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Willamette,  as  we  swing  down  the  river 
from  Portland  and  join  the  Columbia,  five  of  these 
fairy  domes  in  air  are  in  plain  sight — a  wonderful  vision: 
St.  Helens,  Mount  Jefferson,  Mount  Adams,  Mount 
Hood,  and  Mount  Rainier.  St.  Helens,  Queen  of 
the  Cascade  Range,  a  fair  and  graceful  cone — - 
exquisite  mantling  snows  sweep  along  her  shoulders 
toward  the  bristling  pines.  Not  far  from  her  base, 
the  Columbia  crashes  through  the  mountains  in  a 
magnificent  chasm,  and  Mount  Hood,  a  vigorous 
prince,  rises  in  a  keen  pyramid  nearly  12,000  feet. 

The  ascent  of  Mount  Hood  begins  at  Hood  River, 
66  miles  from  Portland,  and  starts  abruptly  from 
the  gorge  of  the  Columbia  River. 

Every  moment  the  road  presents  some  new  and 
interesting  aspect.  Like  all  mountain  highways,  it 
follows  more  or  less  the  inequalities  of  the  ground; 
descending  into  valleys,  climbing  in  a  truly  astonish- 
ing way  the  unavoidable  hills;  crossing  swift-flowing 
scenery  in  the  former,  showing  far  glimpses  of  moun- 
tain  streams     in  the  latter,   now  and  then  the   lofty 

225 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

peak  of  Mount  Adams  sweeping  into  view,  distant 
more  than  35  miles  northward.  Various  kinds  of 
forest  trees,  great  and  small,  press  upon  the  highway; 
flowers  too  numerous  to  name,  if  names  were  known, 
besprinkle  the  glades,  or  grow  pale  and  modest  amid 
the  dark,  cool  depths  of  the  woods. 

Finally  we  reach  the  crest  of  the  immense  spur — 
plunge  quickly  down  the  opposite  side  over  a  steep 
and  winding  road,  and  then — the  Summit  House — the 
Cloudcap  Inn. 

Cloudcap  Inn  is  a  picturesque  hostelry,  built  of 
silver  fir  logs,  and  rooted  securely  on  the  edge  of  a 
precipice  on  the  north  side  of  Mount  Hood.  It  is 
within  fifteen  minutes'  walk  of  the  perpetual  ice  and 
snow  of  Eliot  glacier,  from  which  grand  storehouse 
the  Inn  draws  its  supply  of  ice. 

The  summit  of  Mount  Hood  is  not  attainable 
except  for  experts  in  mountain  climbing.  At  an 
altitude  of  1 1,000  feet,  but  a  prominent  projection  on 
the  north  side  of  the  mountain,  is  the  ultima  thule  for 
the  majority  of  visitors.  Therefrom  the  scene  may 
well  be  described  as  boundless  in  extent,  beauty,  and 
variety.  To  the  south  of  us,  rising  like  a  shaft  from 
w^here  we  stand,  the  impending  splendor  of  the  central 
dome  overtops  us  more  than  1,000  feet;  on  the  east, 
in  the  immediate  foreground,  the  vast  field  of  snow, 
disclosing  by  its  sweeping  undulations  the  immov- 
able inequalities  of  the  mountain;  directly  on  the 
west  the  mountain  seems  to  have  been  cleft  by  sub- 
terranean convulsions  and  an  enormous  segment 
sunk   away,   leaving  a  sheer   precipice  two  or  three 

226 


ON  THE  HEIGHTS 


thousand  feet  high.  From  the  foot  of  this  wall 
stretches  a  glacier,  broken  into  gigantic  crevasses, 
whose  sky-blue  edges  are  often  but  the  portals  of 
grottoes  filled  with  strange  and  fantastic  ornamenta- 
tions— fit  sepulchres  for  ice  kings.  Then,  as  far  as 
the  eye  can  see,  extend  forest-covered  hills  and  val- 
leys, lakes,  and  streams,  Portland  itself  being  invisi- 
ble only  because  of  the  hazy  condition  of  the  air. 
To  the  north  the  broad  Cascade  Range,  fir  clothed 
and  here  and  there  snow  tipped,  its  upheaved  masses 
subdued  and  dwarfed  by  the  three  mighty  domes  of 
Mounts  Adams,  Rainier,  and  St.  Helens,  which 
appear  at  distances  varying  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles.  Beautiful  and  fitting  seems  the 
circlet  of  clouds — the  saint's  rosary — that  hangs 
around  St.  Helens*  crest.  Through  this  magnificent 
picture  from  the  extreme  east,  where  roll  the  bound- 
less plains  of  the  inland  empire,  to  the  extreme  west, 
the  Columbia  River  flashes  like  a  scimitar  blade  that 
has  cleft  in  twain,  by  a  titanic  stroke,  plain  and  rock- 
ribbed  mountain. 

KINGLY  TACOMA 

There  are  eight  glaciers,  each  from  seven  to 
twelve  miles  long,  radiating  from  the  ice-capped 
dome-like  summit  of  Mount  Tacoma,  and  these  gla- 
ciers form  the  sources  of  the  principal  rivers  of  the 
State  of  Washington.  Tacoma  ("nourishing  breast") 
the  Indian  called  the  noble  mountain,  and  when  we 
appreciate  the  deep    significance  of  the   aboriginal 

227 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

name  and  all  that  it  implies  we  do  not  yield  this 
poetical  and  truthful  appellation  to  Admiral — French- 
English-Huguenot^ — Regnier  or  Rainier,  even  if 
Captain  George  Vancouver  did  compliment  his  friend 
and  powerful  patron  by  giving  the  Admiral's  name 
to  the  most  gorgeous  mountain  on  our  western 
coast.  For  have  we  not  the  unimpeachable  dictum 
of  Jim  Bridger:  "When  an  Injun  names  a  place  or  a 
thing  he  always  means  sumthin!" 

Hon.  John  T.  Bibb  of  Tacoma  has  written  most 
entertainingly  of  the  great  mountain: 

WHERE  RIVERS  ARE  BORN 

"If  we  apply  a  geometrical  figure  to  Mount  Tacoma, 
making  it  a  pyramid  of  sixteen  sides,  the  base  of 
each  side  will  be  a  separate  colossal  glacier  extend- 
ing down  to  a  depth  of  about  4,000  feet.  Back  in 
the  morning  of  time  this  mountain  was  an  active 
volcano,  emitting  rivers  of  lava  that  poured  down  its 
rocky  sides,  furrowing  them  into  monstrous  canons. 
As  ages  went  by  the  volcano  became  extinct  and  the 
canons  were  filled  with  snow  that  was  gradually 
packed  and  formed  into  solid  ice,  making  what  we 
call  glaciers.  A  dozen  rivers  that  water  and  drain 
the  great  valley  west  of  the  Cascade  Mountains  are 
formed  of  melted  snow  and  ice  gathered  about 
Mount  Tacoma,  and  it  is  not  visionary  to  assume 
that  some  of  these  rivers  may  one  day  be  gathered 
into    one    great  stream  and  conducted    through   the 

228 


ON  THE  HEIGHTS 


Cascade  Mountains  by  tunnel  and  used  to  irrigate 
the  vast  arid  plains  between  the  Columbia  River  and 
the  Cascade   Mountains. 

"Hemmed  in  between  the  rivers,  on  every  side  of 
the  mountain,  are  natural  parks  extending  from  the 
line  of  perpetual  snow  down  into  the  valley,  and 
abounding  in  flowers,  shrubbery,  luxuriant  foliage, 
and  riotous  streams.  The  handiwork  of  man  is  not 
seen  here;  Nature  alone  could  assemble  these  things 
into  such  perfect  harmony,  and  blend  them  into  such 
surpassing  beauty  under  widely-varying  climatic 
conditions.  From  temperate  heat  and  tropical  ver- 
dure it  is  but  a  step  to  Arctic  cold  and  frigid  bleak- 
ness. Hugging  up  against  glaciers,  delicate  flowers 
grow  in  gardens  of  brilliant  verdure.  These  moun- 
tain parks  are  warmed  by  peculiar  reflections  of  the 
sun's  rays  which  seem  to  be  focused  only  on  certain 
favored  spots. 

RAINIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

"Rainier  Park,  of  which  Mount  Tacoma  is  the 
central  gem,  lies  about  70  miles  southeast  of  Tacoma 
and  contains  nearly  400  square  miles.  It  was 
reserved  by  the  Government  on  account  of  its  great 
natural  interest,  its  marvelous  scenery,  and  its  mag- 
nificent forests.  At  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  four 
miles  inside  the  Park,  are  located  commodious  inns 
that  afford  all  the  comforts  desired  by  travelers 
visiting  the  National  Reserve.  From  these  inns  the 
visitor  may  leisurely  explore  this  Wonderland,  making 


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ON  THE  HEIGHTS 


the  journey  either  on  foot  or  by  trusty  ponies  well 
trained  for  the  service.  He  may  return  each  night 
to  the  inns,  or,  if  he  choose,  he  may  find  comfortable 
stopping  places  at  temporary  inns  higher  up  the 
mountain,  where  he  will  be  surrounded  by  scenery 
nowhere  excelled  on  earth.  Unlike  other  world- 
famed  mountains  that  must  be  viewed  from  afar  as 
cold,  inaccessible  peaks,  the  traveler  may  explore 
every  part  of  Mount  Tacoma  with  comfort,  ease,  and 
keen  delight.  Wherever  he  goes  its  snow-crowned 
head,  towering  nearly  13,000  feet  above  sea  level, 
stands  before  him.  It  may  be  ascended  to  its  very 
crater,  into  which  the  climber  may  retreat  from 
chilly  winds  and  have  the  exciting  experience  of 
comfortably  sleeping  on  a  warm  lava  bed  in  the 
mouth  of  a  slumbering  volcano.  At  the  Park  inns, 
within  the  radius  of  a  few  hundred  feet,  there  is  a 
colony  of  healing  springs  ranging  from  boiling  hot  to 
ice  cold,  some  of  which,  in  ages  long  gone,  were 
gushing  geysers.  Soda,  iron,  sulphur,  salt,  magnesia, 
and  other  mineral  springs  are  grouped  as  close  neigh- 
bors in  this  colony,  and  will  one  day  make  this  a 
famous  health  resort." 

The  journey  may  be  made  for  a  few  dollars  and 
with  no  extra  preparation,  it  being  common  to  make 
the  trip  from  Tacoma  and  return  the  same  day.  To 
reach  Mount  Tacoma  by  rail,  the  traveler  must  take 
the  Paradise  Park  train  at  Tacoma  and  after  three 
hours'  delightful  ride  over  the  scenic  Tacoma  Eastern 
Railway,  and  one  hour  by  stage  over  the  government 
boulevard,   is   landed   in   the   Park  at  the  inns.     To 

231 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

enjoy  a  delightful  experience  that  will  not  come  often 
in  life,  this  trip  should  be  once  made  from  Tacoma 
by  automobile,  going  any  time  between  the  middle  of 
June  and  the  first  of  October. 

The  facts  as  to  the  flora  of  this  mountain  region 
are  almost  incredible.  Here,  at  an  elevation  of  5,000 
feet,  is  a  garden  miles  square,  luxuriantly  carpeted 
with  flowers,  which  are  woven  into  a  thousand  fan- 
tastic figures.  In  this  Park  there  are  500  different 
varieties  of  flowers,  many  of  w^hich  are  found  now^here 
else  on  the  globe  and  all  of  which  have  exceptional 
richness  and  rare  beauty.  From  the  elevation  here, 
reached  without  difficulty,  w^e  have  a  view  that  w^ill 
cling  to  memory  as  long  as  life  lasts.  From  here  we 
see  glacial  streams,  shaded  by  tropical  foliage,  as 
they  crook  and  curve  among  volcanic  rocks  and  giant 
trees,  some  leaping  down  the  stairways  with  willful 
rush  and  deafening  roar;  others  softly  murmuring  as 
they  fall  in  white  spray  or  spread  out  in  lace-like 
drapery.  Flowers  peep  through  the  snow,  and  gar- 
dens, clad  in  summer  verdure,  crowd  in  between 
fields  of   everlasting   ice. 

HIS  MAJESTY 

Some  day,  when  you  are  on  the  deck  of  a  Puget 
Sound  steamer,  going  to,  or  coming  from,  any  one 
of  the  innumerable  places  of  interest  on  that  inland 
sea,  you  may  perhaps  have  a  vision  which  has  been 
described  for  all  time  by  a  master  hand : 

232 


ON  THE  HEIGHTS 


"One  becomes  aware  of  a  vast,  white  shadow 
in  the  water.  It  is  a  giant  mountain  dome  of  snow  in 
the  depths  of  tranquil  blue.  The  smoky  haze  of  an 
Oregon  August  hid  all  the  length  of  its  lesser  ridges 
and  left  this  mighty  summit  based  upon  uplifting 
dimness.  Only  its  splendid  snows  were  visible  high 
in  the  unearthly  regions  of  clear,  noonday  sky. 
Kingly  and  alone  stood  this  majesty  without  any 
visible  comrade,  though  far  to  the  north  and  south 
there  were  isolated  sovereigns.  This  regal  gem  the 
Christians  have  dubbed  Mount  Rainier,  but  more 
melodious  is  its  Indian  name,  'Tacoma.'" 

So  wrote  Theodore  Winthrop,  traveler,  scholar, 
author,  and  soldier,  sixty  years  ago. 

A  MESSAGE  OF  CALM 

We  talk  largely  these  days,  in  an  amateurish 
sort  of  way,  of  "therapeutic  suggestion"  and 
so  on,  but  the  silent  majesty  of  a  great  moun- 
tain is  the  divinest  suggestion  we  may  know  on 
this  earth.  The  mounds  of  snow  are  stateliest; 
calmer,  more  divine  than  rugged  peaks.  "  Our 
lives  forever  demand  and  need  visual  images  that 
can  be  symbols  to  us  of  the  grandeur  or  the 
sweetness  of  repose.  So  these  domes  of  snow 
silently  teach  this  lesson  to  every  human  heart  with 
their  spiritual  uplifting  and  message  of  calm,  and 
we  know  them,  too,  as  our  noblest  friends,  our 
most  exalting  and  inspiring  comrades,  our  grandest 
emblems  of  divine  power  and   divine  peace." 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 


Elevations  of  Mountain  Peaks  and  Passes 
COLORADO 


Peak  Elevation 

Antero 14,245 

Arapahoe 13,520 

Audubon 13,173 

Bald 13.974 

Blanca  Peak...  14.390 

Byers 12,778 

Ethel 11,976 

Evans 14,321 

Gray's 14,341 

Hahn's 10,906 

Harvard 14,375 

Holy  Cross....  14, 170 

Irwin's 14,336 

James 1 3,283 

Longs 14,424 


Peak  Elevation 

Massive 14.298 

Monitor 13,703 

Princeton 14,196 

Pike's 14.111 

Rosalie 13,575 

Yale 14,187 

Uncompahgre . .  14,289 

Pass 

Alpine 12,124 

Argentine 13,286 

Berthoud 14,349 

Boulder 11.670 

Breckenridge...  11.503 
Cochetopa  ....  10,000 
Cunningham ...  1 2,090 


Pass  Elevation 

Fremont 11 ,320 

Georgia 11,476 

Gore 9,570 

Hamilton 12,370 

Hayden 10,780 

Hoosier 10,309 

Lake  Fork 12,540 

Loveland 11,500 

Marshall 10,846 

Poncha 9,049 

Raton 7,893 

Tarryall 12,176 

Trout  Creek  .. .    9,346 

Tennessee 10,229 

Veta 9.339 


OREGON 


Peak  Elevation 

Crater 7,425 

Diamond  Peak.    8,807 
Granite  Mt 8.990 


Peak  Elevation 

Mt.Hood 11,225 

Mt.Pitt 9,760 

Mt.  Scott 9.122 


Peak  Elevation 

Mt.  Timber....  7.519 
Sugar-loaf  Mt..  8,415 
Union  Peak.  .  .    7.881 


WASHINGTON 


Peak                 Elevation 

Peak                Elevation 

Peak                 Elevation 

Mt.  Adams.  ...12.470 

Mt.  Jefferson...    5,657 

Mt.  St.  Helens.     9,750 

Mt.  Baker 10.827 

Mt.  Olympus...   8,150 

Mt.Tacoma...  14,444 

Mt.  Constance. .  7.777 

Mt.Skomegan.    8,400 

IDAHO 


Peak  Elevation 

Antelope  Peak  .  7,282 
Bannock  Peak.  8,359 
Cache  Peak...  10,451 
CanteRock  ...  9.610 
East  MaladeMt.  9.332 


Peak  Elevation 

Estes    10.050 

Grand  Teton...  13,691 
Meade  Peak...  10,541 
Mt.  Caribou  .  .  9.854 
Mt.  Garfield   .  .    9,704 


Peak  Elevation 

Mt.  Oxford  .  .  .  9,386 
Mt.  Preuss.  ...  9,979 
Mt.  Sherman..  9,573 
Sawtelle  Peak.  10.012 


234 


ON  THE  HEIGHTS 


Elevations  of  Mountain  Peaks  and  Passes 


UTAH 


Peak 

Elevation 

Peak 

Elevation 

Peak 

Elevation 

Adams  Head  . 

.10,360 

Mt.  Belknap 

.12.200 

Midget  Crest. 

.11.414 

Anderson  Peak 

.10.710 

Mt.  Brian  .  .  . 

.11.178 

Monroe  Peak. 

.11.240 

BaldMts...  . 

.11.970 
.11.071 

Mt.  Dalton .  . 
Mt.  Delano.. 

.10.480 
.12.240 

Musinia  Peak 
N.  Logan  Peal 

.  10.940 

BlueMt 

,  10.004 

Bruin  Point.  . . 

.10.150 

Mt.  Ellen.... 

.11.485 

Pilot  Peak  .  .  . 

.10.724 

Burro  Peak... 

.12.834 

Mt.  Emmons . 

.13.624 

Point  Carbon . 

.11.400 

Clayton's  Peak 

.11.889 

Mt.  Harry    .  . 

.11.300 

ProvoPeak... 

.11.003 

Cox  Peak  .  .  . 

.13,250 

Mt.  Hodges  . . 

.13.500 

Table  Cliff  . . . 

.10.070 

Frances  Point . 

.10.430 

Mt.Horeb  .. 

.   7.831 

Terrell  Ridge. 

.11.380 

Gilbert  Peak.. 

.13.687 

Mt.  Marvine. 

.11.600 

Tockewanna  P 

.13.200 

HeberMt 

.  9.850 

Mt.  Nebo  .  .  . 

.11.881 

Tomasaki  Mt. 

.12,271 

La  Motte  Peak 

.12.892 

Mt.  Pennel..  . 

.11.320 

Tooele  Peak.. 

.10.396 

Lone  Peak  .  . . 

.11.295 

Mt.  Stevenson 

.10.840 

Twin  Peak .  . . 

.11.563 

Mt.  Bangs 

.   7,950 

Mt.Waas... 

.12,319 

Wilson's  Peak. 

.13.300 

SOME  YELLOWSTONE  PARK  ELEVATIONS 


i 

Elevation 

Elevation 

Elevation 

Amethyst  Mt .  . 

9.423 

Hell  Roaring 

N'th  Twin  Butte 

Baronettes  Peak  10.459 

Mountain . . 

.  8.418 

(Lr.  Basin)..    7.976 

Beaver  Lake . . 

7.415 

Herring  Lake  . 

.   7.530 

Pelican  Hill...    9,580 

BeulahLake.. 

7.530 

Lake  Lewis . . . 

.  7.720 

Promontory  Top  8.706 
Quadrant  Mt..l  0.1 27 

Bison  Peak... 

9.038 

Lower  Geyser 

Bunsen  Peak . . 

8.775 

Basin 

.   7.250 

RedMt 9.777 

Crater  Hills... 

7.820 

Mary  Lake.  .. 

.  8.336 

Riddle  Lake...   8,000 

Dunraven  Peak 

9.988 

Mt.  Crittenden 

10.190 

Shoshone    Gey- 

Elephant's Back  8.884 

Mt.  Doane  . . . 

.10.713 

ser  Basin  ....    7,837 

Flat  Mountain  . 

9.200 

Mt.  Evarts .  .  . 

.   7.900 

Shoshone  Lake.  7.740 

Gardner    Rive 

r 

Mt.  Holmes... 

.10.528 

SmoothfaceMt.10.417 

Springs 

6.500 

Mt.  Langford  . 

.10.779 

Soda  Hill 9.518 

Garnet  Hill.  .  . 

7.177 

Mt.  Norris..  .  . 

.10.019 

S'th  Twin  Butte  7.977 

Gibbon  Geyser. 

7.527 

Mt.  Sheridan 

10  385 

Specimen  Ridge  8,806 

Gibbon  Lake  . . 
Grizzly  Mt 

7.838 
9.982 

Mt.  Stevenson . 

.  10,420 

Turret  Mt 11,142 

Upper   Geyser 

Haystack  Mt.  . . 

7.689 

Mt.Washburne  IU.34b 

Basin   7.400 

Heart  Lake   ... 

7.475 

Mud  Geysers  . 

.   7,725 

Yel'stoneUke     7,741 

•35 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

Elevations  of  Mountain  Peaks  and  Passes 
WYOMING 


Peak  Elevation 

Fremont's  Peak  13,790 
Mt.  Hooker....  12,900 
Wind  River  Pk.  13,499 
Atlantic  Peak  .12,794 
West  Atlantic 

Peak 12,634 

Mt.  Genie  ....12,546 
Mt.Moran....  12,801 
Washakie  N'dlel  2,000 
Medicine  Peak.  12,230 
Mt.Chauvenet   10,030 


Peak  Elevation 

Index  Peak....  11, 740 
YountsPeak...  11,700 
Union  Peak.  ..11,393 
Wyoming  Peak  11,490 

ElkMt 11.162 

Delham  Peak.  .11,524 

Coffin  Mt 11,376 

Chimney  Rock.  1  1,853 
GrosventurePk.  11,570 
Mt.Leidy  ....11,177 


Peak  Elevation 

Gd,  Encampm't 

Mountain.  .  .  1  1,003 
Mill  Peak....  10,506 

Sailor  Mt 10,046 

Virginia  Peak  .  10.444 
Volcanic  Comb  10,583 
HobackPeak   .10,818 

Mt.Baird 9,990 

Bald  Mt 10,029 

Bradley  Peak   .    9,500 


MONTANA 


Peak  Elevation 

Bridger 9,106 

Emigrant   10,969 

Electric 11,155 

Liberty 9.162 


Peak  Elevation 

Blackmore 10.196 

Delano 10,200 

Sphinx 10.844 


Pass  Elevation 

Deer  Lodge...   4,529 

Flathead 6.769 

Lewis  and  Clark  6.323 
Madison 6.911 


CALIFORNIA 


Peak  Elevation 

Mt.  Adams...  .  8.431 
Mt.  Anderson.  .  9.000 
Mt.Bidwell...  8.551 
Mt.  Brewer...  13, 886 
Castle  Peak  ...12.500 
Clark  Peak....  11, 006 
Mt.  Corcoran  ..14,093 

Mt.Dana 12,992 

Dunderberg  Pk.  12,320 
Echo  Peak  ....11,100 
Mt.  Elephant  ..10,418 
Fisherman's  Pk.  14,448 
Highland  Peak.  10,955 


Peak  Elevation 

Hoffman  Peak..  10,921 
Kaweah  Peak..  13,752 

Mt.Lyell 13,090 

McBride  Peak.  13,441 
Meadow  Mt.  .  .  1  1 ,734 
Mt.  Merced  ...  1  1 ,722 
Olancho  Peak.  .12,250 
Pyramid  Mt.  ..  10,020 
Red  State  Peak  13,400 
San  Antonio  Pk.  1,080 
San   Bernardino 

Mountain ...  1 1 ,630 
San  Jacinto  .  ..10,805 


Peak  Elevation 

Mt.  Shasta  ....14.380 
Mt.Silliman...ll,188 
Mt.  Silver  ....10,934 

SonoraMt 11,429 

Stevens  Mt 10,011 

Sunday  Peak  .11 ,089 
Sweetwater  Mt.l  1,778 
Telescope  Mt.  .10,937 
Mt.  Washington  10,802 
Waucoba  Peak.  11.286 
Mt.  Whitney...  14,502 
Woods  Peak..  10.552 


ALASKA 


Peak  Elevation 

Mt.Cook 13,758 

Mt.Crillon....l5,900 


Peak  Elevation 

Mt.  St.  Elias...  18,024 
Mt.  Shishaldin  .  8.952 


Peak  Elevation 

Mt.Fairw'ther.  15,292 


236 


AN  INLAND  VOYAGE 

The  fascinating  charm  of  an  inland  voyage  which 
does  not  involve  sea  sickness,  although  one  is  on  salt 
water  all  of  the  time,  is  one  of  the  strong  allurements 
pertaining  to  the  Alaskan  trip.  Never  out  to  sea,  but 
weaving  in  and  out  among  islands,  through  tortuous 
channels,  across  the  "reach"  of  some  inlet — a  trip 
whereon  you  read  your  book  by  sunlight  at  twelve 
o'clock  at  night,  and  have  the  steam  turned  on  in 
your  cabin  every  night,  even  though  the  month  be 
July! 

Alaska  is  beginning  to  be  better  known  as  a  beau- 
tiful place  to  visit — provided  we  are  not  gold  seekers, 
or  men  with  some  sort  of  a  proposition.  And  within 
all  our  broad  domain  we  have  no  pleasure  journey 
like  this.  The  many  who  have  visited  these  far 
northern  solitudes  have  the  same  story  to  tell — of  the 
matchless  grandeur  of  the  trip,  of  the  midnight  sun, 
of  the  placid  waters,  of  the  aurora  borealis,  of  the 
majestic  mountains,  of  the  inland  seas,  of  the  mighty 
glaciers,  of  the  huge  icebergs  plunging  thunderously 
into  the  sea  and  floating  off  in  lonely  glory,  of  the 
wealth  of  fish,  timber,  and  minerals,  of  the  biggest 
quartz  mill  ever  constructed,  of  the  queer  customs  of 
the  natives,  and  of  novel  and  startling  incidents  that 
may  well  make  the  Inland  Voyage  the  object  of  a 
lifetime. 

Alaska  is  the  largest  and  most  northerly  domain 
owned  by  any  country  with  possessions  on  the  North 

237 


AN  INLAND  VOYAGE 


American  continent.  The  exploration  of  its  south- 
eastern coast  Hne  by  the  hardy  seamen  of  England 
and  Russia  antedates  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence many  years.  Scattered  over  its  vast  expanse 
are  some  of  the  greatest  natural  wonders  of  the  world. 
Its  glaciers,  its  mountains,  its  archipelagoes  of  islands, 
its  mighty  rivers,  are  typical  in  their  grandeur  and 
beauty  of  their  birthplace.  Among  these  dwell  a 
primitive  race  whose  history  is  lost  in  the  shadows  of 
antiquity.  Their  oral  traditions  are  as  vague  as  the 
sea  mists.  They  have  never  wholly  relinquished  the 
habits  and  customs  of  their  barbarous  ancestors. 

In  isolated  places  they  use  to-day  the  same  house- 
hold utensils,  the  same  weapons  for  war  and  hunting, 
the  same  methods  of  catching  and  preparing  fish  (the 
main  source  of  their  food  supply)  as  were  habitual  to 
their  early  progenitors.  Their  canoes  are  modeled 
on  the  same  lines  and  made  in  the  same  laborious 
fashion,  with  the  same  kind  of  crude  implements  used 
long  ago,  and  there  is  certainly  nothing  more  graceful 
and  beautiful  as  a  water  vehicle  than  the  Siwash 
canoes  of  the  Southeast  Coast.  Their  basket  and 
blanket  work  is  the  same  now  as  in  the  by-gone  time. 
Their  present  silversmiths,  working  in  malleable 
metals,  are  making  reproductions  in  miniature  of  the 
carvings  on  stone  and  w^ood,  which  every  leading 
family  possesses  and  cherishes  as  its  sign-manual 
of  distinction.  These  are  the  passports  of  the 
Thlinkets'  four  hundred. 

In  addition  to  these  picturesque  people  and  their 
handiwork    are   Alaska's   numerous   natural   produc- 

239 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

tions.  Its  gold,  and  silver,  and  coal,  and  iron;  its 
magnificent  yellow  cedar  and  other  wonderful  and 
valuable  forest  growths,  and  its  long  list  of  fur-bearing 
animals,  including  the  fur  seal,  Russian  sable,  the 
silver  fox,  and  the  sea  otter,  most  valuable  of  all 
marketable  furs. 

The  native  islanders,  according  to  some  authorities, 
called  the  mainland  "Al-ay-ek-sa,"  which  signifies 
"great  country,"  and  the  word  has  been  corrupted 
into  "Alaska.  "  Alexander  Badlam,  of  the  old 
California  Russia  Fur  Company,  and  a  high  authority 
on  Alaska,  says  the  aboriginal  word  is  "Al-ak-shak," 
and  that  this  was  the  term  the  early  voyagers  heard 
applied  to  the  unknown  land.  This  name  is  found  on 
old  German,  French,  and  Spanish  maps.  Captain 
Cook's  atlas  of  his  first  voyage  in  1778  probably  gave 
the  first  Saxon  spelling  and  pronunciation.  This 
immense  empire,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  sold  by 
Russia  to  the  United  States  October  18,  1867,  for 
$7,200,000.  The  country  was  discovered  by  Vitus 
Behring  in  1741.  The  Spaniards  went  as  far  north 
as  Sitka  in  1775,  and  Captain  Cook  followed  in  1  776. 
Alaska  has  an  area  of  578,000  square  miles,  and  is 
nearly  one-fifth  as  large  as  all  the  other  States  and 
Territories  combined.  It  is  larger  than  twelve  States 
the  size  of   New  York. 

The  secret  of  the  impulse  which  led  Secretary 
Seward  to  enter  promptly  upon  a  negotiation  with 
the  Russian  minister  at  Washington  for  the  transfer 
of  Alaska  to  the  United  States  is  not  generally  known, 
but  the  following  facts  are  authentic:     A  corporation 

240 


AN  INLAND  VOYAGE 


was  formed  in  San  Francisco  in  1866  to  equip  ships, 
and  fit  them  out,  for  carrying  on  the  ice  trade 
between  the  great  glaciers  of  Alaska  and  the  cities  and 
towns  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  It  was  a  well  known  fact 
that  great  glaciers  projected  from  the  lateral  gorges 
of  the  valley  of  the  Stikeen  River,  and  that  millions 
of  tons  of  ice  were  easily  accessible  to  steamers,  and 
could  be  loaded  on  vessels  for  the  markets  of  the 
Pacific  Coast  cities  at  a  moderate  cost  and  with  an 
enormous  profit. 

Soon  after  this  company  was  organized,  and  vessels 
equipped  for  the  traffic.  Prince  Maksutoff,  the 
governor  of  the  Russian  colony,  then  having  his  head- 
quarters at  Sitka,  made  a  proposition  to  the  officers  of 
the  ice  company,  that  they  buy  out  all  the  interests 
of  the  Russian-American  Company  in  Alaska.  Nego- 
tiations for  that  purpose  were  set  on  foot,  and  as 
Alexander  11,  the  Czar  of  Russia,  was  one  of  the 
largest  stockholders  in  the  Russian-American  Com- 
pany, correspondence  began  looking  to  the  acquisition 
of  all  that  territory,  including  sovereign  rights,  by  a 
company  organized  under  the  laws  of  California. 
Mr.  Seward  soon  became  acquainted  with  every  step 
that  had  been  taken,  and,  regarding  it  as  a  question  in 
which  the  United  States  was  vitally  concerned,  inde- 
pendent of  any  interest  w^hich  any  of  the  citizens,  as 
members  of  a  corporation,  might  have,  broached  the 
subject  at  once  to  the  Russian  minister  at  Washing- 
ton, and  in  a  short  time  a  treaty  was  concluded  by 
which  Alaska  became  the  property  of  the  United 
States. 

241 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

The  consideration  was  paid  by  the  United  States, 
and  on  October  18,  1867,  Prince  Maksutoff,  on 
behalf  of  Russia,  and  Gen.  Lovell  H.  Rosseau, 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  made  the  formal 
transfer.  Gen.  Jeff.  C.  Davis,  with  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  troops,  took  possession  and  raised  the 
American  flag.  Five  United  States  vessels  in  Sitka 
Bay  fired  a  salute  when  the  Russian  colors  were 
lowered  from  the  flagstaff  on  Castle  Hill  and  the 
American  flag  took  its  place.  From  that,  date  to  this 
Alaska  has  belonged  to  the  United  States.  It 
is  pointed  out  elsewhere  in  this  volume  that,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  we  bought 
much  better  than  we  knew  when  we  gave  Russia 
her  price  for  this  "unapproachable  wilderness."  The 
canned-salmon  product  amounts,  annually,  to  more 
than  the  money  we  paid;  the  gold  output  to  three 
times  as  much.  Alaska  has  yielded  us  $300,000,000 
since    1880. 

The  best  time  to  visit  Alaska  is  from  June  to 
September.  The  latter  month  is  usually  lovely, 
and  the  sea  beautifully  smooth,  but  the  days  begin 
to  grow  short.  The  trip  occupies  from  twelve  to 
tw^enty  days. 

As  the  rainfall  in  Alaska  is  usually  very  large,  it 
naturally  follows  that  an  umbrella  is  a  convenient 
companion.  A  gossamer  for  a  lady  and  a  mackintosh 
for  a  gentleman,  and  heavy  shoes,  and  coarse,  warm, 
and  comfortable  clothing  for  both  should  be  provided. 
It  is  cool  enough  even  in  July  and  August  for  heavy 
wraps  during  the  greater  part  of  the  trip. 

242 


AN  INLAND  VOYAGE 


The  luxurious  Oregon- Washington  Limited 
receives  you  at  Kansas  City  or  Omaha,  and  dehvers 
you  in  supreme  comfort  at  Seattle,  the  route  traversed 
being  via  Union  Pacific,  Oregon  Short  Line,  Oregon 
Railroad  &  Navigation  Company,  and  Oregon  &  Wash- 
ington Railroad.  At  Seattle,  the  Chicago  of  Puget 
Sound,  the  Alaskan  voyage  begins.  A  wonder- 
fully prosperous  city  is  Seattle,  amazingly  cosmopoli- 
tan, the  outfitting  point  for  all  the  far-north  country, 
and  westward  to  Cape  Nome  and  the  Aleutian  Chain. 
And  it  is  from  here  that  the  steamer  Spokane,  of 
the  Pacific  Coast  Steamship  Company,  starts  on  the 
Alaskan  voyage,  making  the  round  trip,  from  Seattle  to 
the  farthest  northerly  point  reached,  in  about  eleven 
days.  This  company  has  a  large  fleet  engaged  in  the 
Alaska  trade  and  carries  passengers  at  excursion  rates, 
but  the  Spokane  carries  none  but  round-trip,  first- 
class  passengers,  and  very  little  freight.  This  steamer 
is  superbly  equipped  with  all  modern  luxuries  and 
conveniences,  being  provided  with  electric  light, 
elevators,  steam  steering-gear,  cold  storage,  and  all  the 
appliances  used  by  the  big  liners.  Her  sailing  dates 
from  Seattle  are  in  June,  July,  and  August  each  year. 
The  special  features  of  service  on  this  boat  proved 
so  popular  that  every  trip  for  the  season  of  1909  was 
sold  out  six  w^eeks  before  the  sailing  date. 

The  first  call,  after  leaving  Port  Townsend 
across  the  Sound  from  Seattle,  is  at  Victoria,  B.  C, 
and  the  last  at  Vancouver,  B.  C,  thus  affording 
visits  to  two  of  the  most  interesting  cities  in  the 
British    Northwest.     Other    principal    points    visited 

243 


AN  INLAND  VOYAGE 


are  Metlakatla,  where  Father  Duncan  has  his  won- 
derful community  of  1,000  civihzed  Indians;  Ketchi- 
kan, where  a  salmon-run  may  often  be  witnessed; 
Killisnoo  and  the  fishing  grounds  of  Lucky  Kootz- 
nohoo;  Sitka,  the  old-time  Russian  settlement; 
Glacier  Bay  and  the  world-famous  Muir  Glacier, 
where  last  year's  passengers  were  landed  and 
"climbed  the  glacier;  "  Funter's  Bay  Salmon  Cannery; 
Skagway,  the  gateway  to  the  Yukon  Gold  Fields; 
Taku  Glacier,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  Alaska; 
Davidson  and  Windom  Glaciers,  big  picturesque  ice 
streams;  Juneau,  the  capital  city;  Treadwell,  one  of 
the  largest  gold  mines  in  the  world;  Wrangell,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Stikine  River;  and  old  Kasaan,  the  inter- 
esting deserted  Totem-Pole  Village. 

From  Victoria,  for  over  1,000  miles,  northerly, 
the  steamer  proceeds,  passing  through  the  wonder- 
land of  islands,  by  rugged  promontories  and  passing 
canons  that  run  from  mountains  to  sea.  It  is  said 
that  in  this  Alaskan  archipelago  there  are  over  20,000 
islands,  ranging  in  size  from  a  mere  speck  of  volcanic 
rock,  or  a  tuft  of  trees,  ferns,  and  mosses,  to  those  as 
large  as  Vancouver  or  Prince  of  Wales. 

Here  is  an  empire  that,  within  a  few  years,  will 
hold  a  largely  increased  population.  These  are  the 
enchanted  islands,  all  the  way  from  Vancouver  to  the 
glaciers.  They  are  heavily  timbered,  and  on  many 
are  rich  mines;  but,  above  all,  their  timbered  sides 
and  mountainous  form  go  to  make  up  the  grand 
scenery  which  has  been  the  subject  of  comment  and 
glorification  by  many  writers. 


'45 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

The  crowning  glory  of  this  majestic  realm  is  the 
great  Muir  Glacier,  in  Glacier  Bay.  It  lies  southward 
from  Juneau  through  Lynn  Canal  whose  waters  mingle 
with  those  of  Cross  Sound,  or  Icy  Strait,  and  from 
them  we  turn  northwestward  into  Glacier  Bay,  an 
indentation  w^hich  extends  about  30  miles  in  that 
direction,  with  a  breadth  of  from  8  to  1 2  miles  in  its 
lower  reach,  and  narrowing  to  about  3  miles 
at  its  upper  end,  where  seven  enormous  glaciers 
descend  to  its  waters.  The  peninsula,  enclosed  by 
Glacier  Bay,  Cross  Sound,  and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  is 
from  thirty  to  forty  miles  wide,  and  contains  numerous 
lofty  mountains,  including  Mounts  Crillon,  15,900 
feet;  Fairweather,  15,500  feet;  Lituya,  10,000  feet; 
D'Agelet,  9,000  feet;  and  La  Perouse,  11,300 
feet.  These  form  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
Mount  St.  Elias  Alps.  All  these  noble  summits  are 
seen  from  the  steamer's  deck  w^hile  ascending  Glacier 
Bay,  together  with  the  picturesque  White  Mountains, 
w^hich  line  the  east,  betw^een  Glacier  Bay  and  Lynn 
Canal;  but  Mount  St.  Elias,  itself,  is  too  far  north  to 
be  visible.  Vancouver  found  a  wall  of  ice  extend- 
ing across  the  mouth  of  the  bay  in  1794,  and  it  was 
not  until  1880  that  Glacier  Bay  occupied  a  place  on 
any  printed  map.  Near  the  mouth  of  the  bay  is  a 
group  of  low  islands  named  after  Commander 
Beardslee,  of  the  United  States  Navy,  and  composed 
of  loose  material,  evidently  glacier  debris.  Wil- 
loughby  Island,  near  the  middle  of  the  bay,  is  a  bare 
rock  about  two  miles  long  and  1,500  feet  high,  show- 
ing glacial  furrows  and  polishing  from  the  bottom  to 

246 


AN  INLAND  VOYAGE 


the  top.  The  Muir  Glacier  enters  an  inlet  of  the 
same  name  near  the  head  of  the  bay,  in  latitude  58 
degrees  50  minutes  north  and  longitude  136  degrees 
40  minutes  west  of  Greenwich.  It  was  named  for 
Prof.  John  Muir,  the  Pacific  Coast  geologist,  who,  in 
1879,  was,  with  Rev.  S.  Hall  Young  of  Fort  Wrangell, 
the  first  to  explore  the  glacier. 

A  MEMORY  PICTURE 

It  is  the  experience  of  those  who  have  wandered 
over  many  lands,  that  in  the  quiet  of  home,  when  one 
has  resumed  his  place  once  more  amidst  familiar  sur- 
roundings, there  remains  one  particularly  delightful 
memory — some  one  peculiar  spot  or  scene  which 
stands  brightly  out  in  the  winding  story  of  travel,  and 
so  abides  a  precious  possession  forever.  And  this 
Alaskan  voyage  has  given  you  one  memory  you  can 
never  part  with.  We  remember  Puget  Sound,  one 
of  the  noblest  sheets  of  w^ater  w^e  have,  a  dream  of 
beauty;  Victoria,  quaint,  English — a  Devonshire  town 
set  down  next  door  to  feverish  Seattle;  Georgia  Gulf; 
the  famous  Grenville  Channel;  a  bit  of  the  majesty  of 
the  Pacific  across  Dixon's  Entrance;  the  tortuous 
windings  of  Wrangell  Channel;  Baranoff  Island  and 
quaint,  Indianesque,  drowsy,  damp  Sitka;  Juneau  the 
sturdy,  one  of  the  first  glimpses  of  American  trade  and 
traffic;  Fort  Wrangell,  squalid,  filthy,  dirty,  depressed; 
all  these  and  more  make  a  memory  picture  when  we 
say  Alaska!  But  above  all  and  beyond  all  there 
remains  one  vision.  There  always  will  be  one  haunt- 
ing   picture    which   lingers,   one   stray  patch  of   color 

247 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

which  still  glows  long  after  the  journey  is  accom- 
plished, and  one  is  back  to  every-day  sights  and 
scenes  and  faces. 

And  this  vision  is  of  a  bay,  rimmed  in  by  moun- 
tain heights,  void  of  vegetation,  impressive  in  its  dreari- 
ness, lonely  as  death.  These  two  sides  of  somber 
color  are  closed  in  the  immediate  foreground  by  a 
drop  curtain  of  overpowering  majesty.  A  solid  wall 
of  ice  over  a  mile  acroFS  and  250  feet  high  uplifts 
itself  from  the  w^ater;  there  are  pinnacles  and  domes, 
and  fairy  castles  and  minarets  with  delicate  tracery, 
the  ice  revealing  ever-shifting,  varying  tints,  from  the 
loveliest  aqua  marine  to  the-  purest  white.  On 
the  extreme  verge  of  either  wing  is  a  fringe  of  moraine 
ice,  on  the  right  a  muddy  subterranean  river  bursts 
forth  near  the  base  of  the  glacier;  overhead  a  sullen 
sky.  This  makes  a  picture  at  once  beautiful  and  awe- 
some. The  ice  in  the  middle  of  the  glacier,  at  its 
base,  and  in  many  places  across  its  entire  frontage,  is 
of  deep,  translucent  blue  at  the  water  line,  and  above 
it  for  perhaps  two  hundred  feet;  above  that  chalky 
white,  cream  color,  delicate  shades  of  gray,  patches 
of  brown  debris  and  solemn  black  stone  boulders 
mingle  in  magnificent  confusion.  Words  can  not  de- 
scribe the  wonderful  eddying  shades  of  light  and 
color  which  play  across  the  marble  face  of  this  frozen 
splendor.  But  this  "frozen  Niagara,"  as  it  has  been 
called,  has  its  fearful  and  appalling  side.  It  is  not  a 
sleeping,  dreaming  picture  of  prismatic  color,  it  is 
alive,  moving,  terrible  in  strength  and  majesty,  awful 
in  heart-shaking  discharges  of    thunderous   artillery. 

248 


AN  INLAND  VOYAGE 


We  are  anchored  fully  a  mile  from  this  tempestu- 
ous loveliness,  and  yet  it  seems  but  a  few  yards,  so 
colossal  are  the  majestic  proportions  of  the  great  ice 
wall.  Suddenly,  sharp  and  clear,  comes  a  report  like 
a  rifle  shot,  and  then  another;  the  smaller  supports 
around  a  noble  dome  of  steel  blue  ice  are  flying  into 
the  water,  and  next,  slowly  toppling,  the  huge  mass 
crashes  into  the  bay —  and  an  iceberg  is  born!  There 
is  a  tremendous  boom,  louder  than  heavy  field-guns, 
a  vast  volume  of  water  thrown  high  in  air,  and  a 
great  crested  wave  rushes  shoreward,  roaring  along 
the  beach  and  rocking  the  sturdy  vessel  like  a  cradle. 
The  iceberg  gets  her  bearings,  swings  into  the  cur- 
rent and  sails  majestically  down  past  the  desolate 
shores,  and  so  out  to  sea  on  the  bosom  of  the  broad 
Pacific.  Again  and  again  this  is  repeated,  the 
reverberations  varying  in  volume  from  the  crack  of 
some  baby  berg  of  fifty  tons  to  the  columbiad  roar  of 
a  thousand  tonner.  On  the  deck  at  midnight,  which 
is  a  pale  uncertain  twilight,  listening  to  those  weird, 
mysterious  voices  which  proclaim  the  mighty  and 
irresistible  force  of  Nature,  is  an  experience  never 
to  be  forgotten.  And  all  that  night  of  summer  light 
is  heard  the  solemn  booming  of  those   frozen  guns. 

RECENT  EXPLORATION 

For  more  than  ten  years  past,  vigorous  exploration 
has  been  going  on  in  the  northern  parts  of  Alaska  by 
the  National  Geographic  Society  with  splendid  results. 
During  the  summer  of  1909,  the  Society's  expedition 
made  a  thorough  study  of  the  glaciers  in  and  adjacent 

249 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

to  Yakutat  Bay,  which  is  far  north  from  Sitka.  The 
report  of  this  expedition  is  of  absorbing  charm  to 
every  one  interested  in  the  grandeurs  of  our  country, 
and  it  appears  by  this  report  that  we  have  the  largest 
glaciers  in  the  w^orld  outside  the  Arctic  circles.  The 
country,  visited  and  studied,  was  the  mountainous 
region  of  the  Pacific  Coast  slope  of  the  Saint  Elias 
and  Chugach  ranges.  These  mountains  rise  to  heights 
of  8,000  to  10,000  feet,  with  peaks  reaching  15,000 
to  18,000  feet,  and  with  snow  fields  covering  the 
whole  upland  above  2,000  to  3,000  feet,  except 
where  the  slopes  are  too  steep.  The  upland  is  bare, 
cold,  and  cheerless;  the  lowland,  quite  in  contrast, 
may  be  covered  with  spruce  and  hemlock  forest  or 
with  luxuriant  grass  and  flowers. 

The  region  has  a  mild  temperature,  although  in 
the  latitude  of  Hudson  Strait  the  lofty  mountains, 
rising  from  the  coast  in  the  path  of  the  prevailing 
westerly  winds,  cause  heavy  precipitation — 81  to  190 
inches  annually — a  large  percentage  of  which  falls  on 
the  mountains  in  the  form  of  snow.  Great  excess 
of  snow^  accumulation  over  melting  has  resulted  in  the 
formation  of  large  valley  glaciers,  which  descend  from 
all  the  mountains,  uniting  to  form  the  piedmont  Mal- 
aspina  and  Behring  glaciers  and  many  intermediate 
piedmont  bulbs. 

THE  LARGEST  GLACIERS  OUTSIDE  THE  POLAR  REGIONS 

Regarding  the  size  of  these  glaciers  the  report: 
published  in  the  National  Geographic  Magazine  for 
January,  1910,  says: 

250 


AN  INLAND  VOYAGE 


"The  dimensions  of  the  ice  masses  present  is 
commensurate  with  the  heavy  snowfall  and  the  north- 
ern latitude,  many  of  the  valley  glaciers  being  of 
exceptional  size.  The  Hubbard  glacier  (named  after 
Gardiner  Greene  Hubbard,  first  president  of  the 
National  Geographic  Society,  by  Prof.  Israel  C.  Rus- 
sell, who  discovered  the  glacier  in  1890  while  leading 
the  National  Geographic  Society  Expedition  to  Alaska 
of  that  year)  in  Yakutat  Bay,  for  example,  has  a  total 
known  length  of  28  miles,  only  the  lower  portion 
being  explored.  It  reaches  the  sea  and  discharges 
icebergs  from  a  tidal  cliff  nearly  5  miles  long  and 
250  to  300  feet  high.  Upon  its  lower  surface  three 
of  the  largest  and  best-known  Swiss  glaciers — the 
Aletsch,  Rhone,  and  Mer  de  Glace — might  be 
superposed  without  covering  the  whole  width  of 
the   glacier. 

"The  front  of  this  glacier  is  so  high  that  a  man's 
figure  looks  puny  against  it,  and,  indeed,  a  lofty 
modern  office  building,  such  as  the  Masonic  Temple, 
in  Chicago,  might  stand  beside  it  and  the  roof  would 
barely  overtop  the  ice  cliff,  which  also  extends  deep 
beneath  the  w^aters  of  the  fiord.  The  Times  Building, 
in  New  York  City,  approximately  equal  in  height  to 
the  Hubbard  or  Turner  glacier  front,  is  dwarfed 
by  the  giant  mountains  whose  8,000-foot  peaks 
tower  in  the  background. 

"The  whole  city  of  Washington,  laid  out  upon  the 
surface  of  Columbia  glacier,  gives  a  specific  conception 
of  the  magnitude  of  these  ice  masses.  One  who  has 
walked    from    the    Capitol    to  the   White    House,   or 

251 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

from  the  Navy  Yard  to  the  Zoological  Park,  can 
appreciate  this  distance  across  Columbia  glacier. 

"The  Malaspina  glacier,  however,  fed  by  Agassiz, 
Seward,  Marvine,  and  other  valley  glaciers  which 
rival  or  exceed  the  Hubbard  and  Columbia  in  size,  is 
so  large  that  the  whole  State  of  Rhode  Island  could 
be  laid  out  upon  its  1,500  square  miles  of  surface,  or 
all  of  eastern  Massachusetts.  From  a  glance  at  the 
map  it  may  be  seen  that  if  Boston  were  located  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  Malaspina  glacier  the  cities  of 
Worcester  and  Gardner,  in  central  Massachusetts, 
would  be  near  the  west  edge. 

"It  was  with  ice  masses,  varying  in  magnitude  from 
that  of  Malaspina,  Hubbard,  and  Columbia  glaciers 
to  the  almost  innumerable  minor  ice  tongues,  that  the 
investigations  of  the  National  Geographic  Society's 
Alaskan  expedition  of  1909  dealt.  ' 

The  Alaskan  Coast  region  is  not  only  the  seat  of 
the  largest  glaciers  on  the  continent,  and  in  fact 
of  some  of  the  largest  in  the  world,  outside  of  the 
Arctic  and  Antarctic  regions,  but  also  of  some  of 
the    most    interesting    and    least    known. 

The  glaciers  of  the  Alaskan  coast  are  especially 
interesting  to  the  student  of  continental  glaciation, 
because  here  large  masses  of  ice  descend  into  a  cool, 
damp,  temperate  climate,  much  as  was  the  case  at 
the  base  of  the  Alps  and  other  mountains  during  the 
Glacial  period.  The  wasting  margins  of  these  gla- 
ciers furnish  much  information  of  value  in  the  study 
and  interpretation  of  the  phenomena  of  continental 
glaciation  in  Europe  and  America. 

252 


AN  INLAND  VOYAGE 


Where  the  great  Copper  River  breaks  through  the 
lofty  Chugach  Mountains  are  displayed  some  of  the 
most  striking  relationships  between  glaciers  and 
human  life.  This  water  route  to  interior  Alaska  has 
always  been  blocked  by  lateral  glaciers  entering  the 
Copper  River  Valley  and  causing  ice  barriers  and 
rapids  in  the  stream  course.  Few  of  the  Russians 
succeeded  in  getting  up  the  Copper,  and  difficulties 
here  led  to  the  utilization  of  the  glacier  highway  at 
Valdez  by  most  of  the  prospectors. 

Miles  and  Baird  glaciers,  emerging  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  valley,  expand  in  piedmont  bulbs.  The 
Copper  River  writhes  between  them,  forced  first 
against  one  mountain  wall,  then  the  other.  Above 
the  glacier  dams  are  lake-like  stretches  of  the  river. 
Childs  glacier  thus  dams  the  Copper,  causing  a  lake 
into  w^hich  the  Miles  glacier  discharges  icebergs  from  a 
cliff  three  miles  long.  There  are  similar  slack  waters 
above  Miles  and  Baird  glaciers.  Opposite  the  glacier 
ends    the    river   is    constricted    into    foaming    rapids. 

THE  GREATEST  SCENIC  RAILWAY  IN  THE  WORLD 

"Under  these  difficult  conditions  a  railway  is  being 
built.  Its  difficulties  include  three  great  bridges 
across  the  shifting  glacial  torrent  of  Copper  River. 
They  include  expensive  rock  cuts,  curves,  etc.,  at 
Abercrombie  Rapids,  where  Miles  glacier  and  the 
river  occupy  the  whole  valley,  forcing  the  railway 
to  the  mountain  side.  They  include  the  laying  of 
five  miles  of  track  on  the  ice  of  Baird  glacier, 
whosie    advance   would    destroy  the  line  and  whose 

253 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

melting    will     keep     it     continually    under    repairs. 

"The  project  is  daring,  unique,  but  possible.  Care- 
ful study  has  determined  the  necessities.  Large 
capital  has  enabled  wise  work.  Able  engineers, 
including  Messrs.  E.  C.  Hawkins,  M.  J.  Heney,  and 
Alfred  Williams,  who  built  the  White  Pass  and 
Yukon  Railway,  are  coping  with  the  problems  one  by 
one.  Men  have  never  before  built  railways  close  to, 
between,  and  on  great  glaciers.  But  that  it  can  be 
done  is  being  proved  in  Alaska.  The  rich  copper 
deposits  north  of  the  Chugach  Range,  near  Mount 
Wrangell,  and  perhaps  the  valuable  coal  fields  of  the 
Controller  Bay  region,  will  soon  be  connected  by 
rail  with  the  growing  port  of  Cordova,  on  eastern 
Prince  William  Sound. 

"Moreover,  this  will  be  the  greatest  scenic  route  in 
the  world.  Nowhere  else  can  one  step  from  an 
ocean  steamship  to  a  railway  car,  and  ride  through 
foothills,  then  over  a  great  glacial  delta  to  and  between 
giant  ice  tongues  two  and  eleven  miles,  respectively, 
in  width,  around  the  stagnant,  moraine-veneered  bulb 
of  the  northern  part  of  the  Miles  glacier,  past  the 
beautiful  Abercrombie  Rapids,  and  over  five  miles  of 
the  stagnant  Baird  glacier.  Here  ice  underlies  the 
ties  and  rails,  and  a  moraine  with  alders  and  cotton- 
woods  covers  the  icy  slope  on  one  side,  while  the 
other  is  washed  by  the  Copper  River." 

THE  HARRIMAN  EXPEDITION 

When  E.  H.  Harriman  was  chairman  of  the  Execu- 
tive  Committee   of    the    Union   Pacific    Railroad   he 

254 


AN  INLAND  VOYAGE 


headed  a  scientific  expedition  to  Alaska.  Although 
keenly  alive  to  the  value  of  expert  exploration — 
helps  alike  to  science  and  commerce — the  trip  was 
primarily  made  to  recuperate  Mr.  Harriman's 
impaired  health,  and  with  characteristic  generosity 
he  invited  a  large  party  of  the  most  distinguished 
scientists  in  the  country  to  accompany  him.  The 
expedition  left  New  York  by  special  train  on 
May  24,  1899,  leaving  Seattle  by  specially  chartered 
steamer  May  31st,  and  returning  to  the  point  of 
departure  August  1st. 

No  expedition  has  achieved  more  important 
results,  nor  been  of  greater  moment  in  the  annals  of 
scientific  investigation  than  that  made  by  this  party. 

The  scientists  of  the  expedition  contented  them- 
selves with  studying  the  coast  of  Alaska,  so  that  the 
interior  portions  of  this  great  territory  were  not 
visited.  The  entire  journey  after  leaving  Seattle 
covered  9,000  miles. 

The  expedition  was  notable  in  many  ways  and  of 
great  importance  on  account  of  the  discovery  of  many 
facts  relative  to  the  geographical  situation  of  Alaska 
hitherto  unknow^n.  The  journey  after  leaving  Seattle 
was  by  the  inside  channel.  Stops  were  made  at  Vic- 
toria, Wrangell,  Juneau,  and  Skagway  was  reached 
on  June  6th. 

The  party  then  proceeded  over  White  Pass  to  the 
waters  of  the  Yukon,  and  returned  to  Skagway. 
Thence  they  sailed  for  Glacier  Bay.  Here  the  glaciers 
were  studied  and  collections  were  made.  Sitka  was 
visited  for  three  days,  and  from  here  the  party  went 

255 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

to  Yakutat,  and  proceeded  to  the  extreme  head  of  the 
bay  to  examine  and  map  glaciers.  Several  days 
were  devoted  to  the  visit  of  Prince  William  Sound, 
and  then  the  party  sailed  to  Cook's  Inlet.  Here 
several  were  left  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula  at  Kukak 
Bay,  North  of  Kadiak  Island,  to  make  collections. 
Kadiak  and  Wood  Islands  w^ere  thoroughly  explored, 
and  the  party  celebrated  the  Fourth  of  July  in  the  Harbor 
of  Kadiak.  From  here  the  journey  was  continued 
westward  via  Shuniagin  Islands,  where  the  naturalists 
were  left  until  the  return  of  the  ship,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  party  continued  via  Unimak  Pass 
to  Behring  Sea,  to  Unalaska,  to  Pribilof  Islands,  via 
Bogoslof  Volcano,  and  thence  to  Plover  Bay  in 
Siberia.  From  here  all  returned  to  Port  Clarence  on 
American  soil,  and  thence  to  St.  Lawrence  Island,  on 
the  way  steaming  around  King  Island,  and  later 
visited  Hall  and  St.  Matthew  Islands,  after  which  the 
return  was  commenced  to  Seattle. 

Large  collections  of  vertebrate  and  invertebrate 
zoological  specimens  were  secured,  and  in  botany 
and  ethnology  many  birds  and  mammals  hitherto 
rare  were  found  in  considerable  numbers. 

Several  thousand  photographs  were  taken  on  this 
expedition.  New  waters  were  entered  and  explored, 
and  many  new  glaciers  were  discovered  and  mapped. 
The  members  of  the  expedition  were  so  intent 
on  getting  scientific  knowledge  that  few  attempts 
were  made  to  secure  fish  of  which  there  are  many 
varieties,  or  engage  in  any  extensive  hunting  expe- 
ditions. 

256 


AN  INLAND  VOYAGE 


Mr.  Harriman  distinguished  himself  by  kiUing  a 
she-bear  on  Kodiak  Island,  and  Miss  Mary  Harriman 
killed  a  deer  on  Bioca  Island. 


Iceberg  in  Taku  Inlet,  Alaska 


Yosemite  Falls  in  Yosemite  Valley,  California 


YOSEMITE,  THE  ENCHANTED 
VALLEY 

"  The  tonal  quality,  the  symphonic  coloring,  the 
delicate  blending  of  tints  in  this  great  Nature  poem, 
are  of    an  infinite — " 

"  That  will  do,  young  man  !  You  mean  well,  tut 
you  can  not  describe  Yosemite  by  piling  ever  so 
many  gorgeous  words  together  in  striving  to  build  a 
small  mountain  of  rhapsody.  Many  have  attempted 
it,  and  none  have  succeeded;  for  although  you  may 
have  caught  glimpses  of  this  vision,  you  can  not 
portray  it  in  words.  Frederick  Church  or  Bierstadt 
could  paint  it  for  you,  and  that  would  be  the  only 
description  worth  having.  The  army  of  scribblers, 
when  they  reach  the  gateway  of  this  Enchanted 
Valley,  should  in  reverence  cast  aside  their  pencils, 
face  the  picture  in  silence,  and  try  to  remember  it." 

To  the  student,  a  large  part  of  the  charm  of  the 
valley  and  the  adjacent  mountains  is  the  geologic 
story  which  they  tell.  "  Nowhere,"  John  Muir  says, 
"  will  you  see  the  majestic  operations  of  Nature 
more  clearly  revealed  beside  the  frailest,  most  gentle 
and  peaceful  things.     .     .  During  the  last  glacial 

period,  just  passed,  the  former  features  of  the  range 
were  rubbed  off  as  a  chalk  sketch  from  a  black- 
board, and  a  new  beginning  was  made.  Hence  the 
wonderful  clearness  and  freshness  of  the  rocky 
pages.  But  to  get  all  this  into  words  is  a  hopeless 
task.  The  leanest  sketch  of  each  feature  would 
need  a  whole  chapter." 

259 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

Yosemite  lies  in  the  heart  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 
Mountains,  about  150  miles  l^rom  San  Francisco  as 
the  crow  flies,  a  little  south  of  east  in  direction. 
Its  elevation  about  the  center  of  the  valley  is  4,000 
feet  above  sea  level.  In  form  it  is  somewhat 
irregular,  and  its  trend  is  northeast  and  southwest. 
It  is  closed  at  the  upper  or  eastern  end,  and  partially 
open  at  the  other,  forming  thus  a  pocket.  Its  length 
is  about  7  miles,  and  its  width  from  one-half  to  I J 
miles.  The  valley  has  been  re-ceded  by  the  State 
of  California  to  the  United  States,  and  will  hereafter 
be  taken  care  of  by  the  National  Government  as  one 
of  its  system  of  National  parks.  The  original  grant 
was  15  miles  in  length,  and  in  width  "one  mile  back 
from  the  main  edge  of  the  precipice  on  each  side  of 
the  valley,"  but  the  Park  in  its  entirety  covers  a 
domain  36  by  48  miles.  The  re-cession  of  this  ter- 
ritory now  places  it  on  a  par  with  the  Yellowstone 
National  Park  in  all  matters  of  management  and 
improvement,  and  the  fostering  care  and  generosity 
of  the  Government  will  doubtless  greatly  increase 
the  facilities  for  seeing  and  enjoying  this  beautiful 
and  unrivaled  region. 

This  new  National  Park  in  the  heart  of  the  Sierras 
in  central  eastern  California  is  now  easy  of  access — 
none  of  the  American  wonderlands  more  so.  From 
north  and  south  the  Southern  Pacific  joins  the  Yosem- 
ite Valley  Railroad  at  Merced:  and  the  latter,  with 
a  journey  80  miles  up  the  beautiful  Merced  River, 
takes  the  traveler  to  the  Park  line — El  Portal.  A 
stage  ride  of  14  miles  completes  the  trip  to  the  heart 

260 


YOSEMITE,  THE  ENCHANTED  VALLEY 

of  the  valley.  Both  at  El  Portal  and  in  the  valley 
are  such  ties  to  civilization  the  year  round  as  steam- 
heated,  electric-lighted  hotels  with  telephone, 
telegraph,  and  express  office,  and  there  are  comfort- 
able tent  villages  in  summer  for  those  who  would  be 
out  of  doors. 

The  floor  of  the  valley  is  nearly  level,  the  Mer- 
ced River,  which  flows  through  it,  falling  about  63 
feet  in  its  course.  More  than  3,000  acres  are 
meadow  and  pasture,  and  trees  and  groves  make  of 
it  a  natural  park.  The  walls  which  shut  it  in  are 
nearly  perpendicular,  and  they  are  remarkable  at 
once  for  their  great  height,  their  vertical  character, 
and  the  little  talus  or  debris  at  their  feet.  This  is 
part  of  the  charm  of  this  great  valley.  Its  floor  is  not 
a  chaos  of  fallen  rocks.  Green  grove,  emerald 
meadow,  flowery  pasture,  crystal  river,  crowd  up 
to  the  solid  white  feet  of  lofty  precipices,  and  one 
looks  up  at  an  angle  of  90  degrees  to  mountain 
summits  3,000  and  5,000  feet  above  him  in  the 
zenith. 

It  has  been  claimed  for  Dr.  Bunnell,  who  was  at 
•the  time  a  member  of  the  Mariposa  Battalion  and 
engaged  in  chasing  hostile  Indians,  that  he  was  the 
first  white  man  (in  the  winter  of  1.850)  who  entered 
the  valley.  J.  M.  Hutchings  of  Yosemite  also 
claimed  first  honors  as  a  visiting  tourist,  he  and 
three  companions  making  the  first  pleasure  trip 
through  the  valley  in  1855,  and  in  his  charming 
sketch,  the  "  Heart  of  the  Sierras,"  gives  an  inter- 
esting account  of  the  valley.     That   part  relating   to 

261 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

the  origin  and  meaning  of  the  word  Yo  Semite,  the 
correct  method  of  speHing,  and  the  legend  pertaining 
to  the  place,  will  be  found  of  special  value.  Mr. 
Hutchings  says  of  the  musical  name  Yo  Semite,  that 
its  meaning  is,  according  to  the  best  authorities,  "  a 
large  or  full-grown  grizzly  bear,"  and  is  pronounced 
Yo  Sem-i-tee.  The  old  name  was  Ah-wah-nee,  and 
the  tribe  which  inhabited  it — the  remote  ancestors 
of  Ten-ie-ya — were  Ah-wah-nee-chees,  the  origin  or 
significance  of  which  is  still  veiled  in  mystery. 

From  an  intelligent  Indian,  whose  life  the  writer 
was  once  instrumental  in  saving,  and  from  whom 
many  interesting  facts  concerning  his  race  have  been 
obtained,  he  received  the  following: 

LEGENDARY  TRADITION  CONCERNING  "YO  SEMITE" 

"A  band  of  the  Ah-wah-nee-chees,  then  a  tribe 
numbering  over  1,000,  was  encamped  among  the 
oaks  near  the  foot  of  Indian  Canon,  when,  early  one 
morning,  an  athletic  chief  determined  upon  going  to 
Mirror  Lake  (called  by  them  'Ke-ko-too-yem,'  or 
'Sleeping  Water,'  and  'Ah-wi-yah')  for  the  purpose 
of  spearing  a  number  of  its  delicious  trout.  On- 
threading  his  way  among  the  boulders  that  strewed 
the  ground,  and  when  passing  one  of  the  largest,  he 
was  suddenly  met  by  an  enormous  grizzly  bear.  The 
abruptness  of  this  unexpected  meeting  must  have 
been  interpreted  by  the  grizzly  as  an  unjustifiable 
intrusion  upon  his  ursine  privileges  and  domain,  as 
he  immediately  declared  it  a  casus  belli,  by  an  instan- 
taneous and  ferocious  attack  upon  the   Indian.      Un- 

262 


YOSEMITE,  THE  ENCHANTED  VALLEY 

prepared  as  the  young  chief  was  for  such  an  encoun- 
ter, he  resolved  upon  standing  his  ground,  and  doing 
his  best,  as  nobly  as  he  could,  so  that  the  children 
of  Ah-wah-nee  might  see  that  the  valorous  blood  of 
their  ancestors  was  still  flowing  in  the  veins  of  their 
descendants.  The  dead  limb  of  a  tree  lying  near, 
provided  him  with  a  weapon  of  defense,  and  with  it 
he  dealt  out  heavy  and  lusty  blows  upon  the  head  of 
his  antagonist ;  and,  although  badly  lacerated  and 
torn  by  the  teeth  and  claws  of  the  infuriated  brute, 
the  Indian  courageously  held  to  the  uneven  contest, 
until  the  eyes  of  bruin  began  to  glaze  in  the  cold 
glare  of  death,  and  'victory  had  perched  upon  the 
banners'  of  the  chief.  The  astonished  Indians,  in 
admiring  acknowledgment  of  the  unexampled  prow- 
ess of  the  dauntless  Ah-wah-nee-chee,  thenceforth 
called  him  'Yo  Semite'  in  honor  of  his  successful 
and  great  achievement.  This  well-won  cognomen 
was  eventually  transmitted  to  his  children,  and  finally 
to  the  whole  tribe;  so  that  the  'Yo  Semites'  were 
known,  and  feared,  by  all  the  Indians  around  their 
wildly  defensive  habitations. 

"It  is  apparent,  from  Dr.  Bunnell's  statement,  that 
the  signification  of  *Yo  Semite'  was  not  generally 
known  to  the  battalion,  nor  was  there  any  uniformity 
in  its  general  pronunciation,  even  among  the  Indians 
themselves ;  some  calling  it  Oo-soom-i-tee,  others 
Oo-hum-i-tee,  Yo-hum-i-tee,  Yo-hem-i-tee,  and  still 
others,  Yo-ham-i-tee,  while  Bullack,  the  oldest  of 
the  Yo  Semites  now  living,  calls  it  Ah  Hum-a-tee — 
all,  however,  having  the  same  meaning. 

263 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

"In  the  summer  of  1855  Thomas  Ayres,  Alex- 
ander Stair,  Walter  Millard  and  the  writer  made  the 
first  tourist  trip  to  Yo  Semite  ever  attempted.  We 
engaged  two  Yo  Semite  Indians  as  guides.  Toward 
night  of  the  first  day  out  we  enquired  of  the  prin- 
cipal guide,  Kossum,  how  far  it  might  possibly  be 
to  Yo  Semite — for  then  we  knew  it  by  no  other 
name.  He  looked  at  us  earnestly,  and  replied,  'No 
Yo  Semite!  Yohamite;  sabe,  Yo~ham-i-teer  In  this  way 
we  were  corrected  not  less  than  thirty-five  or  forty 
times.  After  returning  to  San  Francisco,  having 
arranged  for  the  publication  of  a  large  lithograph  of 
the  Yo  Semite  Falls,  before  attaching  the  name  to  it, 
I  w^rote  to  John  Hunt,  who  w^as  keeping  a  store 
on  the  Fresno  River,  and  from  whom  we  had  ob- 
tained our  Indian  guides,  requesting  him  to  go  to  the 
most  intelligent  among  them,  and  ascertain  the  exact 
way  of  pronouncing  the  name  given  to  the  valley. 
His  answer  was,  'The  correct  pronunciation  is  Yo- 
hamUtee  or  Yo  Hem-i-te.'  This,  then,  was  the  name 
placed  on  the  lithograph. 

"Before  fully  closing  these  inquiries,  it  may  not  be 
inappropriate  to  consider  why  preference  is  given 
here  to  the  construction  of  the  word  Yo  Semite  with  a 
capital  '5'  on  its  second  syllable.  It  is  this;  Dr. 
Bunnell,  to  whom  the  world  is  indebted  for  the 
choice  and  adoption  of  this  euphonious  name,  so 
gave  it  to  the  writer,  some  thirty  years  ago,  and 
before  the  present  slovenly  way  of  spelling  it  came 
into  practice.  It  is  true.  Dr.  Bunnell,  in  his  valuable 
work,  'The   Discovery  of  the  Yo  Semite,'  has  fallen 

;  264 


YOSEMITE.  THE  ENCHANTED  VALLEY 

into  that  habit;  but,  when  asked  his  reason  for  mak- 
ing the  change,  repHed,  'I  allowed  the  printer  to 
follow  his  own  way  of  spelling  it.  Yours,  how^ever, 
is  the  correct  one,  and  1  must  give  you  credit  for 
keeping  up  its  pure  orthography,  that  being  the  con- 
struction given  to  it,  and  agreed  upon,  at  our  first 
camp-fire  in  Yo  Semite,  in  1851.'  The  Act  of  Con- 
gress making  the  donation  of  the  valley  to  the  State 
so  gives  it.  " 

One  of  the  finest  views  of  Yosemite  Valley  is 
from  Inspiration  Point,  on  the  right  as  we  enter  from 
the  west.  It  is  not  equaled  by  any  other  approach 
and  is  only  surpassed  by  the  view  a  little  farther  on, 
from  what  is  called  Artist's  Point.  From  here  most 
of  the  pictures  of  the  Yosemite  are  painted  and  one 
is  disposed  to  admit  that  the  artistic  feeling  is  right. 
But  Inspiration  Point  is  notable,  if  the  name  does 
conjure  up  rhetorical  speeches  and  outbursts  of 
emotion. 

IN  THE  VALLEY 

Here  on  the  right,  or  south  wall,  is  Bridal  Veil 
Falls.  Around  the  shoulder,  behind  which  Bridal 
Veil  Creek  makes  its  way  to  the  brink,  are  Cathedral 
Rocks.  They  get  their  name  from  their  resemblance 
to  the  Duomo  at  Florence,  and  reach  an  elevation  of 
2,660  feet  above  the  valley  floor,  one  spire  rising 
sheer  and  solitary  for  700  feet. 

Nearly  opposite  is  El  Capitan.  It  rises  3,300 
feet  with  an  apparently  vertical  front  and  has  two 
faces  almost  at  right  angles  to  each  other. 

265 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

The  Three  Brothers  are  a  fraternal  group  a  little 
beyond  El  Capitan,  and  their  resemblance  depends 
upon  the  point  of  view.  They  are  sometimes  called 
the  Three  Graces.  To  the  Indians  their  attitude  is 
said  to  have  suggested  the  heads  of  frogs  sitting  up 
ready  to  leap.  The  highest  of  the  three  is  3,530 
feet,  and  is  known  from  other  points  as  Eagle  Peak. 
Its  summit  is  reached  by  one  of  the  trails  from  the 
valley,  and  the  view  is  certainly  worth  hours  of  hard 
climbing. 

Sentinel  Rock  faces  Three  Brothers  from  the 
south  wall,  and  is  a  splintered  granite  tower  or 
spire,  slender,  and  for  about  1,500  feet  below  its 
apex  nearly  perpendicular.  The  height  is  3,059  feet 
above  the  river  at  its  base. 

Back  of  this  natural  and  majestic  monument 
stands  Sentinel  Dome,  whose  storm-worn  top 
reaches  a  height  of  4,142  feet.  We  walk  over 
its  conoidal,  or  onion-like,  layers  when  we  scale 
the  rim  of  the  valley. 

The  social  center  of  Yosemite,  the  hotel,  the  little 
post-office,  a  few  shops  and  offices,  are  gathered  near 
the  bridge  across  the  Merced  ;  opposite  these  is  the 
great  Yosemite  Waterfall. 

Across  from  here,  the  south  wall  thrusts  out  a 
massive  shoulder,  which  is  well  named  Glacier 
Point.  At  no  other  point  is  the  wall  so  bare  and 
sheer,  and  you  look  up,  almost  from  its  solid  foot, 
3,234  feet. 

On  the  other  side  stands  Yosemite  Point,  flanked 
on  the  east  by   Indian  Canon,  so  called  because:.by 

266 


YOSEMITE,  THE  ENCHANTED  VALLEY 

means  of  it  the  Indians  of  early  days  used  to  enter 
or  leave  the  valley. 

The  Royal  Arches  come  next;  they  are  in  the  vast 
vertical  wall  whose  highest  summit  is   North   Dome. 

Over  against  it,  but  looking  down  the  valley, 
stands  the  highest  rock  of  all  the  region,  the  great 
South  Dome,  or  Half  Dome,  as  it  is  often  called.  It 
is  8,927  feet  above  sea  level,  or  nearly  5,000  feet 
above  the  valley. 

Passing  through  Tenaya  Canon  w^e  come  to 
Mirror  Lake.  It  is  but  a  pond — a  widening  or 
expansion  of  Tenaya  Creek- — and  the  dust  is  sifted 
over  it  and  wind-blown  about  its  edges.  But  when 
the  slow  sun  creeps  over  the  great  flank  of  the  South 
Dome — the  visit  should  always  be  made  before  sun- 
rise— everything  in  this  little  mirror  is  wonderfully 
reduplicated- 

UP  THE  TRAILS 

Visitors  to  this  wonderful  park  should  plan  for 
time  to  see  it  from  every  point  and  to  see  all 
the  places  of  interest.  You  will  do  well  to  call  the 
Saddle  Train  and  take  a  trail  to  the  rim  of  the  valley. 
Especially  will  you  need  to  see  Vernal  and  Nevada 
Falls. 

Another  day  may  well  be  spent  on  the  trail  to 
Yosemite  Falls  and  Eagle  Rock. 

If  equal  to  it,  go  on  to  the  top  of  El  Capitan.  It 
is  something  to  see  the  "topside"  of  the  great  "Cap- 
tain," and  from  here  the  lower  section  of  the  Park  is 
well  seen, 

267 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

Visit  Glacier  Point;  the  trail  is  a  wonderful  zig- 
zag, a  triumph  of  engineering. 

Glacier  Point  is,  perhaps,  the  most  popular  objec- 
tive point  in  the  whole  region.  It  is  so  by  reason  of 
its  accessibility,  its  commanding  position,  its  great 
vertical  height  and  the  unspeakable  sublimity  of 
the  view  from  its  projecting  rocks.  These  rocks, 
which  mark  the  point,  are  but  a  few  yards  from 
the  hotel.  It  is  exactly  3,234  feet  from  the  top 
of  the  jutting  and  insecure-looking  rock,  upon  which 
"nervy"  people  stand  to  be  photographed,  down  to 
the  floor  of  the  valley,  and  a  pebble  dropped  from 
this  point  will  touch  nothing  until  it  strikes  the  talus 
3,000  feet  straight  down. 


The  Cathedral  Spires, 
Yosemite  Valley,  California 

268 


THE  BIG  TREES 

It  is  a  common  error  to  suppose  that  the  grove  of 
Big  Trees  near  Yosemite  is  the  one  particular  stand 
of  the  Sequoia  Gigantea  in  CaHfornia.  The  fact  is  they 
are  found  in  a  continuous  belt  over  260  miles  long 
from  Placer  County  to  Kern  County,  an  extreme  of 
latitude  from  36  degrees  to  38  degrees  15  minutes, 
and  growing  always  in  an  altitude  of  from  4,000  to 
7,000  feet  above  sea  level — the  general  prerequisites 
for  their  health  and  growth  being  a  dry,  clear  atmos- 
phere, plenty  of  open  sunny  space,  and  no  under- 
brush. The  Gigantea  has  its  habitat  only  in  the  Sierra 
Nevadas,  while  its  near  relative,  the  Sequoia  Semper- 
virens,  the  redwood  of  commerce,  grows  along  the 
Coast  Range,  is  not  very  long-lived,  nor  does  it  attain 
to  the  size  of  the  Gigantea.  John  L.  Corvan  says  these 
limitations  appear  to  be  purely  accidental — due, 
perhaps,  to  the  fortuitous  escape  of  seeds  from 
destruction  when  those  of  all  other  trees  of  their  kind 
in  other  parts  of  the  world  were  killed  in  the  Age  of 
Ice.  In  any  event,  the  seeds  of  the  Big  Trees  germi- 
nate readily  in  any  temperate  climate,  irrespective  of 
altitude;  and  thousands  of  Sequoias,  planted  since 
1853,  are  now  growing  in  the  Eastern  States,  England, 
and  many  other  countries.  A  thousand  years  or 
more  hence,  California's  monopoly  of  Big  Trees  will 
be  broken. 

John  Muir  has  pronounced  the  Big  Trees  of  Cali- 
fornia  Nature's  foremost  masterpieces,  the    greatest 

269 


The  Big  Tree  "Wawona"  with  Stage  Road  cut  through  its  Base 
— Mariposa  Big  Tree  Grove,  California 


THE  BIG  TREES 


of  living  things.  One  does  not  appreciate  their 
greatness  until  he  has  walked  around  them,  measured 
their  girth,  lain  down  on  the  ground,  and  allowed 
the  eye  to  travel  slowly  and  comprehendingly  up  the 
imperceptibly  tapering  trunks.  Then  he  is  ready  to 
take  off  his  hat  to  these  green  but  venerable  relics  of 
the  youth  of  the  world.  Prof.  David  Starr  Jordan 
believes  that  some  of  them  are  8,000  years  old. 
"They  antedate  the  oldest  civilization  of  which  the 
archaeologist  finds  any  trace.  They  were  forest 
giants  before  Moses,  or  Confucius,  or  Buddha,  or  any 
other  maker  of  laws  or  of  religion,  whose  name  his- 
tory records,  was  born.  They  were  'old'  before 
Christ  walked  the  earth;  and  reared  their  tall  crowns 
in  majesty  toward  the  skies  centuries  before  Troy 
fell,  or  the  pyramids  were  builded,  or  the  foundations 
of  Babel  were  laid.  Who  can  say  how  many  more 
ephemeral  civilizations,  religions,  and  social  systems 
they  will  survive?  Barring  accident  and  catastrophe, 
they  appear  to  be  immortal.  There  is  no  evidence 
that  they  ever  die  of  disease,  decay,  or-  old  age. 
Some  of  them  are  dead  at  the  top — but  they  were 
blasted  by  lightning,  and  the  trunks  are  still  as  sound 
as  ever.  Many  have  been  tunneled  by  fire,  but  even 
this  appears  not  to  have  affected  their  vitality.  Re- 
peated forest  fires  may  burn  them  to  the  ground,  and 
a  succession  of  thunderbolts  may  permanently  blast 
or  hopelessly  shatter  them;  or  they  may  be  under- 
mined by  floods  or  blown  down  by  terrific  storms. 
But  death  appears  to  be  as  unnatural  for  them  as  it 
is  inevitable  to  all  things  else  that  have  life." 

271 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

Twenty-six  miles  from  the  Yosemite  Valley,  or 
39  miles  from  Raymond,  on  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad,  is  Wawona,  headquarters  for  a  visit 
to  the  Big  Trees.  Situated  in  the  heart  of  the 
Sierras,  on  the  South  Fork  of  the  Merced  River,  at 
an  altitude  of  4,000  feet,  its  spring,  summer  and 
autumn  climate  is  ideal,  and  the  scenic  beauty  of  its 
surroundings  has  few  parallels. 

There  are  five  principal  groves  of  this  Big  Tree 
district,  and  several  minor  groves  in  close  proximity. 
These  groves  are  the  Calaveras,  California,  Giant, 
Grant,  and  Mariposa — the  last  named  being  8  miles 
from  Wawona.  This  Mariposa  grove  was  discovered 
in  1857,  by  Galen  Clark,  who  died  at  Oakland,  Cali- 
fornia, March  24,  1910,  aged  96  years.  He  was,  for 
twenty  years,  the  State  Guardian  of  Yosemite  Valley, 
and  the  intimate  friend  of  Professor  Le  Conte, 
John  Muir,  and  John  Burroughs.  It  consists  of  two 
divisions,  known  as  the  Upper  and  Lower  groves, 
about  a  mile  apart,  the  former  containing  360  and  the 
latter  246  large  Sequoias,  and  many  of  smaller  size, 
growing  among  cedars,  sugar  pines,  and  yellow  pines 
that  exceed  in  height  and  girth  any  trees  to  be  found 
in  America,  east  of  the  Sierras. 

The  greatest  forest  in  the  world  is  the  Giant  Forest 
included  in  the  Sequoia  National  Park.  It  contains 
more  than  3,000  trees  more  than  300  feet  high,  with 
girth  exceeding  fifty  feet,  and  numberless  others  of  the 
same  species  but  of  smaller  size.  Other  famous  groves 
are  the  Calaveras,  South  Park,  Tuolumne,  Fresno, 
General  Grant  National  Park,  and  Tule  River  groves, 

272 


THE  BIG  TREES 


The  Calaveras  Grove  was  discovered  in  1853, 
and  was  first  described  in  the  Gardeners'  Chronicle, 
published  in  London.  As  the  Big  Trees  of  the 
Sierras  were  supposed  to  belong  to  a  new  genus  of 
conifers,  a  professor  in  the  University  of  London 
made  haste  to  christen  this  genus  "  Wellingtonia," 
species  Gigantea.  Soon  afterwards  it  was  proven 
that  the  giant  trees  of  the  mountains  belonged  to  the 
same  genus  as  those  of  the  Coast  Range,  already 
named  the  Sequoia  Sempervirens,  and  this  generic 
name  finally  prevailed.  It  is  worth  noting  that  this 
nomenclature  immortalizes  a  Cherokee  Indian  of 
mixed  blood,  named  Sequoyah,  also  called  by  the 
English  name  John  Guess,  who  devised  an  alphabet 
for  his  people,  and  first  reduced  their  language  to 
printed  form.  He  was  a  native  of  Alabama,  but  was 
exiled  to  New  Mexico,  where  he  died  in  1843.  His 
achievement  marks  him  as  one  of  the  greatest  of 
American  Indians,  so  that  it  is  not  inappropriate  that 
his  name  is  perpetuated  in  that  of  the  greatest  of 
American  trees. 

On  account  of  its  accessibility,  the  Mariposa 
Grove  is  the  one  most  frequently  visited.  For  forty 
years  it  has  attracted  tree  lovers  and  sight-seers. 
Most  of  the  very  large  trees  in  the  grove  have  been 
given  the  names  of  States,  cities,  prominent  men, 
or  more  or  less  fanciful  appellations,  such  as  the 
"Four  Guardsmen,"  the  "Pillar  of  the  Temple,"  and 
"FeHce"  (the  last  334  feet  high.) 

The  real  king  of  the  forest  is  the  tree  in  the 
Mariposa    Grove    known    as     the     "Grizzly     Giant." 

273 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

This  is  104  feet  in  circumference  at  the  ground  and 
285  feet  high.  Five  feet  above  the  ground  it  is  90  feet 
in  circumference.  It  takes  twenty-two  men  with  out- 
stretched arms,  and  finger  tips  barely  touching,  to 
encircle  it.  It  is  claimed  that  six  men  can  ride  around 
this  tree  on  horseback,  keeping  equally  distant  from 
each  other,  and  that  not  one  can  see  another.  The 
first  limbs  are  100  feet  from  the  ground.  One  of  these 
is  more  than  20  feet  in  circumference,  or  nearly  7  feet 
through — large  enough  itself  to  be  counted  a  great  tree 
anywhere  but  in  California.  Many  other  limbs  are 
from  2  to  5  feet  in  diameter,  so  that  it  has  been  said  that 
if  the  limbs  were  all  cut  from  the  Grizzly  Giant  and 
placed  upright  in  the  ground,  they  would  make  a  very 
respectable  grove  of  really  "big  trees"  themselves. 
Its  age  has  been  variously  estimated  at  from  5,000 
to  8,000  years;  and  John  Muir  once  said  that  this  is 
the  only  Sequoia  he  ever  saw  that  appeared  to  have 
reached  the  zenith  of  its  growth.  Considering  its 
height,  girth,  age,  and  aw^e-inspiring  appearance,  this 
venerable  tree  may  doubtless  be  pronounced  the 
grandest  tree  in  the  world.  There  are  others  that  are 
higher,  and  there  are  many  that  are  larger  in  circum- 
ference; but  perhaps  there  are  none  that  embrace  so 
many  elements  of  tree-greatness. 

The  "Fallen  Monarch"  is  a  great  tree  in  the  lower 
grove  that  has  been  lying  upon  the  ground  for 
generations,  but  is  still  untouched  by  decay.  A 
roadway  has  been  built  that  makes  it  possible  to 
drive  a  four-horse  stage  coach  up  on  the  trunk,  trav- 
ersing its  entire  length  to  the  wide-spreading  roots; 

274 


THE  BIG  TREES 


and  a  score  or  more  of  mounted  cavalrymen  have 
been  posed  for  their  photographs  upon  the  fallen 
bole  at  one  time.  A  similar  fallen  tree  is  seen  in 
the  Upper  Grove,  with  a  flight  of  thirteen  steps 
leading  from  the  ground  to  its  upper  surface.  Two 
great  trees  known  as  the  "California"  and  the  "Wa- 
wona,  "  have  roadways  cut  through  them,  10  feet 
square,  through  which  the  stages  are  driven.  This 
serves  well  to  give  visitors  to  the  grove  an  adequate 
idea  of  the  tremendous  size  of  the  trees. 

Nearly  all  the  Big  Trees  in  the  Mariposa  Grove 
bear  black  scars  of  the  forest  fires  of  past  years.  The 
"Telescope  Tree"  has  been  burned  to  a  mere  shell, 
so  that  one  can  stand  in  the  hollow  trunk  and  look 
upward  to  daylight  among  the  branches,  200  feet 
from  the  ground.  Two  young  cavalrymen,  now 
stationed  in  the  Grove  to  prevent  vandalism,  have 
built  for  themselves  a  camp  that  is  unique  among 
military  camps  the  world  over.  Their  horses  are 
stabled  in  the  trunk  of  a  forest  patriarch  that  has 
been  hollowed  out  by  fire;  and  their  tent  is  pitched 
in  the  shadow  of  the  sloping  bole  of  a  giant  tree, 
broken  some  distance  from  the  ground,  and  still  rest- 
ing upon  the  stump  from  which  it  was  severed.  To 
particularize  the  other  notable  trees  in  the  Grove 
would  be  wearisome.  A  few  are:  "Lincoln,"  26  feet 
in  diameter;  "Washington,"  29  feet,  and  "McKinley," 
28  feet.  All  of  these  are  300  feet  or  more  in  height. 
Susan  B.  Anthony  has  a  tree  named  in  her  honor;  as 
also  have  ex-President  Roosevelt,  Lafayette,  Whittier, 
Longfellow,  Emerson,   Dewey,  and  others. 


275 


Cave  Rock,  Lake  Tahoe,  California 


LAKE  TAHOE 

The  most  picturesque  figure  in  all  American  litera- 
ture, a  man  who  knew  and  loved  the  West,  who  had 
come  under  the  spell  of  western  life  in  his  earlier 
years,    speaks   on    this   wise   regarding   Lake   Tahoe: 

"A  noble  sheet  of  blue  water  lifted  6,300  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  walled  in  by  a  rim  of 
snow-clad  mountain  peaks,  that  towered  aloft  full 
3,000  feet  higher  still — a  vast  oval  eighty  or  a  hundred 
miles  around  it.  .  .  The  forest  about  us  was  dense  and 
cool,  and  the  sky  above  us  was  cloudless  and  brilliant 
with  sunshine,  the  broad  lake  glassy  and  clear;  and  its 
circling  border  of  mountain  domes,  clothed  with 
forests,  scarred  with  landslides,  cloven  by  canons,  and 
valleys,  and  helmeted  with  glittering  snow,  fitly  framed 
and  finished  the  noble  picture.  The  view  was  always 
fascinating,  bewitching,  entrancing.  The  eye  was 
never  tired  of  gazing,  night  or  day,  in  calm  or  storm; 
it  suffered  but  one  grief  and  that  was  it  could  not 
look  always,  but  must  close  sometimes  in  sleep." 

And  years  afterwards,  when  looking  out  from  the 
enchanted  grounds  of  Bellagio  over  Lake  Como,  he 
says:  "As  1  go  back  in  spirit  and  recall  that  noble 
sea,  reposing  among  the  snow  peaks  6,000  feet  and 
more  above  the  ocean,  the  conviction  comes  strong 
upon  me  again  that  Como  would  only  seem  a  bediz- 
ened little  courtier  in  that  august  presence.  Tahoe — 
a  sea  in  the  clouds;  a  sea  that  has  character,  and 
asserts  it  in  solemn  calms,  at  times  in  savage  storms;  a 
sea  whose  royal  seclusion  is  guarded  by  a  cordon  of 

277 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

sentinel  peaks  that  lift  their  frosty  fronts  9,000  feet 
above  the  level  world;  a  sea  whose  every  aspect  is 
impressive,  whose  belongings  are  all  beautiful, 
whose  lonely  majesty  types  the  Deity!" — Mark  Twain 
wrote  that  description  many  years  ago,  and  it  has  not 
been  improved  on — yet. 

The  old  trail  to  the  lake,  devious,  tortuous,  a 
veritable  %^ia  mala  has  been  lost  for  ever  and  the  rail- 
road has  taken  its  place.  Visitors  now  leave  The 
Overland  Route  between  Ogden  and  San  Francisco 
at  Truckee,  Nevada,  taking  thence  the  narrow  gauge 
line  of  the  Lake  Tahoe  Railway  &  Transportation 
Company  up  the  picturesque  canon  of  the  Truckee 
River.  Truckee  is  just  below  the  summit  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada  Range,  200  miles  east  of  San  Francisco 
and  42  miles  north  of  Carson,  Nevada.  From 
June  1st  to  October  1st  is  the  best  time  in  the  year 
to  see  this  region,  for  then  Tahoe  is  in  her  glory,  and 
the  escape  from  summer  heat  to  these  cool  heights  is 
delightful. 

From  Truckee  the  line  carries  one  up  the  canon- 
like valley  of  the  beautiful  Truckee  River,  a  distance 
of  15  miles,  to  the  rim  of  the  lake — an  interest- 
ing hour's  journey  beside  rushing  w^aters. 

TAHOE  TAVERN 

The  train  stops  at  Tahoe  Tavern  and  breakfast 
follows  immediately.  The  tavern  and  its  new  annex 
afford  all  the  comfort  and  luxuries  of  a  high-class 
resort;   rooms  and  suites  of  rooms,  with  bath,  steam 

278 


LAKE  TAHOE 


heat,  hot  and  cold  running  water,  a  new  casino,  one 
of  the  best  in  the  West,  with  broad  verandas  over- 
looking the  lake,  bowling  alleys,  club  rooms,  ball 
room,  billiard  room,  and  museum.  Telegraph  and 
telephone  stations  are  in  the  hotel. 

AROUND  THE  LAKE 

Daily  the  swift  little  steamer,  Tahoe,  carrying 
230  people,  and  traveling  twenty-four  miles  per 
hour,  makes  the  circuit  of  the  lake,  a  distance  of 
70  miles.  Starting  from  Tahoe  City,  and  leaving 
the  Tavern  a  little  later,  just  after  breakfast,  the 
seven  hours  circling  of  the  rim  of  the  cup  is  begun 
— a  journey  of  many  delightful  surprises  and  varied 
w^ith  stops  at  the  many  lakeside  resorts  here 
described  in  order  of  visitation.  Grizzly  Bear  Peak, 
an  immense  crag  of  granite,  commands  the  western 
shore,  just  after  leaving  Tahoe  City.  Beyond  is 
Sunnyside  (a  private  resort),  and  four  miles  inland, 
half-revealed  amid  its  shelter  of  pines  and  firs,  at  the 
base  of  a  mountain  wall,  is  Idlew^ild. 

McKINNEY'S 

McKinney's,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  popular 
resorts  on  the  lake,  is  the  first  place  where  line  is  cast 
ashore.  The  homelike  hotel  and  cottages  will  care 
for  125  guests.  Books,  fishing  outfits,  the  baths, 
music,  and  dancing  are  free  to  the  guests.  Saddle 
horses  and  conveyance  may  be  had  at  reasonable 
prices.        An     exceedingly     well     regulated    resort, 

279 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

governed  by  common-sense  rules;  there  is  much  done 
to  entertain  guests — campfire  gatherings  and  camp 
dances  and  the  hke.  Hence  are  reached  Mirror  Bay, 
Quail  Lake,  Iron  Springs,  and  beautiful  Rubicon 
Springs. 

MOANA  VILLA 

Two  hundred  yards  from  McKinney's,  Moana 
Villa  furnishes  like  facilities  for  the  comfort  and 
pleasure  of  its  guests. 

Then  we  touch  at  Rubicon  Springs,  Rubicon 
Point,  Emerald  Bay,  and  Tallac;  Bijou  and  Lakeside 
Park.  Tallac  is  a  notable  point  on  the  lake  journey. 
Commanding  the  southern  end  of  the  lake,  and 
situated  in  a  primeval  forest  of  unmarred  beauty,  the 
hotel  and  its  cottages  have  been  so  adapted  to  their 
environment  as  to  make  the  place  one  of  easy  out- 
door charm.  Excursion  trips  may  be  made  to  Mount 
Tallac,  with  its  view  of  the  wilderness  and  fourteen 
alpine  lakes;  Freel's  Peak,  highest  in  the  neighbor- 
hood; such  great  trout  lakes  as  Fallen  Leaf,  Granite, 
Cascade,  Eagle,  Gilmore,  Lilly,  and  Angora;  Emerald 
Bay  and  Rubicon  Point;  the  head  waters  of  the  little 
Truckee,  Lakeside  and  Glenbrook,  and  up  to  the 
head  of  the  American  River,  in  the  valley  of  straw- 
berries. 

GLEN  ALPINE  SPRINGS 

Glen  Alpine  Springs,  7  miles  south  of  Tallac, 
possess  water  of  great  hydrotherapeutic   value,  bub- 

280 


LAKE  TAHOE 


bling  forth  amid  the  wildest  and  most  impressive 
scenery  of  all  this  wonderful  region.  Forty-six  lakes, 
alive  with  fighting  trout,  all  within  six  miles  of  the 
hotel  here  keep  anglers  busy  all  the  time.  Daily 
excursions  to  Tallac,  Ralston,  Angora,  Pyramid,  and 
Richardson's  Peaks,  Desolation  Valley,  and  any  of 
the  forty-six  lakes,  furnish  interesting  entertainment. 
Glenbrook  Inn  and  Ranch  are  on  the  Nevada 
side  of  Lake  Tahoe,  where  the  stage  and  steamer 
routes  meet — an  easy,  restful,  unconventional  resort 
much  sought  after  by  tourists.  Brockways  is  the  last 
stop  on  the  steamer  as  we  head  for  home  and  the 
Tahoe  Tavern. 


Tahoc  Tavern,  Tahoe,  California 


PROGRESS  OF  CITIES 

We  were  speaking  elsewhere  of  the  advancement 
made  by  towns  in  the  Empire  of  the  West — rapid  in 
growth — ^solidly  built — and  possessing  all  the  luxuries 
of  the  older  settled  parts  of  the  country.  Progress, 
achievement,  "the  best  is  none  too  good  for  us"  is  the 
formula.  The  point  emphasized  is  that,  in  a  given 
number  of  towns  having  from  10,000  to  20,000 
inhabitants,  the  Western  towns  will  be  found  further 
advanced  in  municipal  affairs  than  the  cities  of  equal 
numbers  in  the  Far  East;  for  culture  and  an 
appreciation  of  all  the  refinements  of  life  are  no 
longer  held  in  fee  simple  by  any  one  section  of  our 
country.  Los  Angeles  is  one  of  the  best  musical 
centers  to  be  found  in  any  of  the  States,  and  its 
local  library  stands  first  in  the  United  States  in  per 
capita  circulation.  John  Hay  once  heard  a  cowboy 
in  the  Grand  Canon  of  the  Yellowstone  declaiming  a 
a  verse  of  Omar  Khayam!  And  after  all  where  is 
the  mystery?  We  have  drawn  from  your  best  and 
brightest  and  they  brought  with  them  a  rich  dower  of 
culture,  a  love  of  art  and  science,  the  scholar's  tastes 
and  all  that  makes  the  cultured  life.  And  while  we 
do  not  forget  that  we  belong  to  a  nation  of  pioneers, 
we  do  hold,  with  pardonable  pride,  that  the  building 
of  this  Empire  of  the  West  in  sixty  years  is  an  achieve- 
ment unmatched  and  unequaled  in  American  his- 
tory. But  the  fact  remains  that  while  the  town  of 
Pilgrimsport  deliberates  over  the  necessity  for  a  new 

283 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

clock  in  the  town  hall,  the  vigorous  future  metropolis 
of  Hustleville  has  installed  a  million-dollar  water- 
works plant,  built  a  $200,000  court  house,  and  put 
up  three  more  elevators.  It  is  the  dominance  of  the 
red  corpuscle — vital  energy,  breathed  in  from  clear 
air  and  sunshine. 

No  one  is  greatly  surprised  when  stupendous 
works  are  inaugurated  and  carried  to  successful  com- 
pletion in  the  great  centers  of  the  East.  We  naturally 
expect  to  see  it  in  New^  York,  or  Boston,  or  Chicago. 
But  skyscrapers,  in  a  Far  West  town  not  much  over 
thirty  years  old,  are  somewhat  startling. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  commercial  fact  that  Omaha 
bank  clearings  reached  large  figures  for  1909;  but 
it  is  also  significant  that  the  building  record  for  the 
year  was  over  $7,000,000. 

To  be  sure  it  can  be  urged  that  these  statistics  are 
interdependent,  that  one  offers  the  solution  for  the 
other,  but  underneath  both  is  one  strong  note — 
progress.  You  will  find  this  same  ratio  all  the  way 
to  the  Coast — Kansas  City,  Denver,  Salt  Lake,  and 
all  the  rest  of  the  growing  towns  in  greater  or  less 
proportion.  The  Western  man  is  a  good  spender,  and 
better  still,  save  in  rare  instances,  he  is  loyal  to  his 
tow^n.  It  is  not  always  a  question  whether  the  propo- 
sition is  a  certain  sure  revenue-maker;  he  is  rich,  and 
feels  in  duty  bound  to  do  something  creditable.  "I 
made  my  money  in  Utah,"  said  Sam  Newhouse  when 
he  put  up  the  first  tall  building  in  Salt  Lake,  "and  I 
am  going  to  live  here  and  spend  it  here."  And  this 
is   true   in   the   vast  majority  of   cases.     The  exodus 

284 


PROGRESS  OF  CITIES 


from  the  West  to  Eastern  centers  of  those  who  have 
made  their  fortunes  here  is  not,  numerically,  propor- 
tionately large.  Sometirries  one  of  the  unduly  rich 
will  go  into  the  magnate  business  in  New  York,  but 
the  average  Western  millionaire  holds  his  claim 
among  old  friends — too  w^ise  to  venture  his  happi- 
ness in  the  city's  awful  desert. 

It  is  the  Western  habit  of  "doing  things"  which  is 
always  in  evidence.  A  few^  weeks  before  the  meet- 
ing of  a  great  convention  in  Kansas  City  the  Audi- 
torium burns;  before  the  ashes  are  cold  the  contract 
has  been  let  for  a  new  building,  money  subscribed, 
— and  the  new^  hall  finished  in  time;  Seattle  burns, 
and  is  rebuilt,  stronger,  better,  larger —  and  the  same 
with  Spokane.  The  New  San  Francisco  will  surpass 
the  old.  Is  there  a  city  of  its  size  in  the  country 
w^hich  w^ould  have  put  up  the  money  for  a  Natatorium 
like  Boise?  And  it  paid  to  do  it,  for  it  was  the 
best  possible  advertisement  for  the  town. 

OMAHA 

Having  recourse  once  more  to  the  overworked 
statistical  tables  let  us  glance  at  a  handful  of  com- 
parative figures.  Here  is  Omaha,  a  city  of  150,000 
people,  or  200,000  within  a  radius  of  five  miles  from 
the  business  center;  bank  clearings,  $735,223,000; 
United  States  Revenue  receipts,  $2,600,000;  build- 
ing for  year,  $7,200,000;  bank  deposits,  $60,000,000; 
twelve  public  parks,  nearly  1,000  acres;  150  jobbing 
houses,  annual  sales,  $115,000,000;  300  factories, 
value    of    products,    $192,000,000;    largest    butter- 

285 


PROGRESS  OF  CITIES 


making  city  in  the  world,  1  5,000,000  pounds  annually; 
grain  receipts,  50,000,000  bushels;  seventeen  eleva- 
tors; third  largest  packing  and  live-stock  center;  largest 
smelting  and  refining  plant  in  the  world  in  value 
of  productions;  manufactures  20,000,000  pounds  of 
white  lead  annually;  fourteen  lines  of  railroad  and  151 
passenger  trains  daily;  real  estate  transfers,  $13,- 
000,000;  post-office  business,  $12,000,000.  This 
was    the    record    for    1909. 

KANSAS  CITY 

Kansas  City  belongs  to  and  is  classed  as  a  Western 
city,  but  takes  her  place  as  a  metropolitan  center 
among  the  great  cities  of  the  Union.  We  deal  with 
figures  here  which  seem  paradoxical  for  a  town  which, 
not  so  long  ago  was  numbered  among  the  frontier  out- 
posts of  the  desert;  bank  clearings,  $2,395,450,000 
for  the  year;  bank  deposits,  $126,700,000;  real 
estate  sales,  $52,000,000;  building,  $13,400,000; 
factory  output,  $50,000,000 — and  other  commercial 
figures  of  similar  dimensions. 

TOPEKA 

Now,  one  is  able  to  account  for  the  tremendous 
vigor  of  metropolitan  Kansas  City,  but  what  shall  we 
say  for  the  lesser  lights  out  in  the  State  where  the 
same  aggressive  forces  are  at  work.  Drop  off  at 
Topeka,  only  67  miles  from  Kansas  City,  and, 
one  would  imagine,  completely  overshadowed 
by  it;  besides,  whoever  heard  of  a  capital  city  forging 

287 


THE  EMPIRE  OE  THE  WEST 

to  the  front  in  commercial  activity?  Here  is  a 
beautiful  city  of  50,000  people;  eleven  colleges; 
thirteen  commercial  bodies;  ten  banks;  four 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  buildings  with  a  total  membership  of 
3,200;  twelve  public  parks;  bank  deposits,  $10,000,- 
000;  pubhc  school  buildings,  $2,000,000;  natural 
gas  brought  in  125  miles  by  pipe  line,  110  miles  of 
mains  in  the  city;  147  manufactories  employing  5,300 
men,  product  valued  at  $14,200,000;  the  largest 
creamery  in  the  world,  whose  operating  expenses  are 
$4,000,000  a  year,  which  pays  Kansas'  farmers 
$1,500,000  annually,  and  has  400  receiving  stations. 

KANSAS  AND  NEBRASKA  TOWNS 

And  Leavenworth,  Salina,  McPherson,  Ellis, 
Lawrence,  and  many  others  tell  the  same  story.  The 
reason?  They  are  in  the  midst  of  the  corn  and 
wheat-fields  of  the  Great  American  Desert!  The 
same  condition  will  be  noted  on  the  Nebraska 
main  line  of  the  Union  Pacific;  towns  like  Fremont, 
Grand  Island,  Kearney,  and  North  Platte — active, 
aggressive,  growing  cities,  born  and  reared  in  the 
great  valley  of  the  Platte,  a  region  which  helps  to 
feed  the  world. 

DENVER 

Denver!  Here  we  come  face  to  face  with  a  trans- 
formation scene  akin  toenchantment.  Froma miner's 
cabin  to  a  city  of  palaces  in  fifty  years!  They  cele- 
brated their  first  half  century  in  1909.  Building 
record  last  year,  $1 1,500,000;  permanent  population, 


PROGRESS  OF  CITIES 


220,000;  200  trains  per  day  out  of  the  Union  Station; 
United  States  mint,  $22,400,000;  100,000  tourist 
visitors  for  the  year;  1,200  factories,  and  value  of 
product  $125,000,000;  live  stock  handled,  value, 
$24,000,000;  post-office  business,  $12,500,000; 
bank  clearings,  $470,000,000;  bank  deposits, 
$75,000,000. 

SALT  LAKE  CITY 

Salt  Lake — another  frontier  outpost!  Building, 
$8,300,000,  an  increase  of  $4,000,000  over  previous 
year;  bank  clearings,  $350,000,000;  claims  100,000 
population;  bank  deposits,  $38,5000,000;  value  of 
shares  sold  in  mining  exchange,  $16,500,000;  there 
are  16,600  children  in  the  schools  and  500  teachers; 
$7,000,000  mining  dividends  paid  during  the  year; 
$50,000,000  output  of  factories. 

"Something  too  much  for  this" — for  even  very 
eloquent  figures  in  excess  prove  dry  reading.  The 
record  of  Portland,  Spokane,  Tacoma,  Seattle,  San 
Francisco,  and  Los  Angeles,  all  tell  the  same  story. 

SAN  FRANCISCO 

It  is  impossible  to  pass  San  Francisco  without 
specific  mention;  for  the  figures  in  connection  with 
her  restoration  are  wonderful:  Real  estate  sales 
for  the  year  (1909),  $34,000,000;  assessed  valuation 
in  1905  was  $524,239,000;  loss  by  fire  in  1906 
was  $148,000,000;  valuation  returned  in  March 
1909  was  $492,330,000.     There  were  24,718  build- 

289 


PROGRESS  OF  CITIES 


ings  destroyed  by  fire  and  earthquake;  up  to  the 
close  of  1909  there  had  been  24,278  permits  granted 
calling  for  an  expenditure  of  $152,984,000.  The 
actual  valuation  of  the  city  is  higher  by  $25,000,000 
than  it  was  in  1905.  The  building  operations  for 
1909  amounted  to  $30,500,000.  Durmg  the  three 
and  one-half  years  since  rebuilding  began  there  has 
been  expended  $165,000,000  in  the  city,  and  of  this 
sum  only  $12,000,000  was  outside  money — the 
citizens  and  local  banks  raised  the  rest;  bank  clear- 
ings for  eleven  months  of  1909,  $1,786,250,000. 

The  real  Western  civic  spirit  stops  at  nothing — 
this  side  of  sanity  and  common  sense.  H.  T.  Finck, 
in  his  paper  on  the  "Progressive  Pacific  Coast,"  brings 
out  this  point  very  happily. 

"By  annexing  San  Pedro,  last  August,  Los 
Angeles  became  a  seaport  town,  competing  for 
its  share  of  the  Oriental  and  other  Pacific  Ocean 
trade.  The  National  Government  has  already  spent 
millions  on  improving  this  harbor,  and  a  great  future 
is  predicted.  To  annex  a  town  and  harbor  22 
miles  away  may  seem  a  daring  feat,  but  it  is  a  mere 
trifle  to  the  project  of  making  California's  highest 
snow  peak — over  two  hundred  miles  away — contrib- 
ute to  the  welfare  and  wealth  of  Los  Angeles.  A 
few  years  ago  the  startling  fact  was  revealed  that  all 
the  available  sources  of  water  had  been  utilized,  and 
that  this  city  must  be  abruptly  arrested  in  its  rapid 
growth  unless  an  unlimited  supply  of  pure  water 
could  be  obtained.  Such  a  supply  the  engineers 
failed  to   find    anywhere    nearer   than    230    miles,  at 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 


Owens  Lake,  which  is  fed  by  the  glaciers  and  snow 
fields  of  Mount  Whitney.  Here  was  water  enough 
to  provide  400,000,000  gallons  a  day — sufficient  for 
a  city  seven  times  the  present  size  of  Los  Angeles, 
but  it  would  cost  over  $23,000,000  to  bring  it 
down.  The  city,  by  vote  of  fourteen  to  one,  promptly 
issued  bonds  to  the  requisite  amount  and  the 
stupendous  project  is  now  being  carried  out.  The 
sum  invested  is  large,  but  there  will  be  water  enough 
to  irrigate  all  of  Los  Angeles  County,  and  the  sale  of 
this  and  of  the  electric  pow^er  obtainable  w^ill  more 
than  pay  the  interest." 

Here  in  this  "desolate  and  rock-bound  coast 
country"  we  will  pause  and  rest  awhile.  From  San 
Diego  to  Skagway  this  work  of  empire  building  is 
going  on — ceaseless,  resistless.  In  speaking  of  this 
great  domain,  J.  E.  Defebaugh,  editor  of  the  American 
Lumberman,  says  in  a  letter  to  his  paper: 

"The  Pacific  Northw^est  makes  a  w^onderful 
appeal  to  every  visitor,  and  as  he  tarries  the  appeal 
brings  conviction.  It  is  a  marvelous  country.  It  is 
a  land  of  living  waters,  of  golden  soil,  of  mineral 
wealth  beyond  comprehension;  of  forests  which  will 
bless  mankind  when  other  lands  are  desolate;  a  land 
of  mountain,  plain,  and  valley;  a  land  where  continent 
and  ocean  embrace  each  other,  and  of  a  people  great 
in  intellect,  energy,  endurance,  and  kindliness.  Its 
people!  They  were  chosen  by  the  most  rigid  proc- 
esses of  natural  selection  from  all  the  conquering 
races  that  have  made  America  great.  There,  in  that 
golden   Northwest,   in  a  climate  which,  without  the 

292 


PROGRESS  OF  CITIES 


harshness  of  the  North  or  the  enervating  softness  of 
the  South,  encourages  human  effort  and  assists  in 
accomplishment,  these  people  are  building  an  empire. 
They  have  harnessed  the  streams  for  power;  they 
have  poured  them  over  the  plains  which  they  have 
converted  into  fruitful  fields  and  gardens;  they 
are  wresting  from  the  earth  its  mineral  wealth;  they  are 
converting  its  forests  into  forms  of  utility  and  beauty, 
and  at  the  same  time  preserving  them  from  destruc- 
tion; they  are  building  schools  and  colleges  and  are 
living  like  princes  of  the  earth.  The  Bible  vision  of 
every  man  dwelling  under  his  own  vine  and  fig  tree 
is  realized  there,  w^here  every  man  may  have  a  snow- 
capped mountain  peak  in  his  back  yard,  and  where 
every  bodily  need  and  individual  want  may  be  grati- 
fied. The  natural  w^ealth  of  that  country  is  great, 
and  great  are  its  achievements  in  every  line  of 
human  effort;  but  greater  and  better  than  all  are 
its  people  themselves — a  chosen  race,  growing  not 
only  in  numbers  but  in  all  the  accomplishments 
and  graces  w^hich  make  a  people  mutually  useful  and 
happy." 


293 


SAFETY.  SERVICE,  SPEED 

Montgomery  Schuyler,  in  writing  of  his  experi- 
ences on  the  famous  Los  Angeles  Limited,  says: 

"On  God's  frontiers  we  seem  to  be.  And  it 
seems  as  it  w^ere  blasphemous  and  heaven-defying 
that  we  should  be  traversing  a  forbidden  country 
with  every  circumstance  of  the  luxury  of  travel 
which  can  be  had  anywhere.  The  Easterner  natur- 
ally expects  to  find  in  the  wilderness  some  traces  of 
the  rawness  and  roughness  of  pioneering  in  his  rail- 
roading, compared  with  longer  and  more  thickly- 
settled  regions.  There  are  absolutely  none.  The 
train,  of  course,  is  perfectly  up-to-date  in  its  appoint- 
ments, indeed,  in  some  respects  in  advance  of  date. 
For  one  thing,  it  is  the  most  brilliantly-lighted  train, 
notably  in  the  dining  car  and  the  composite  car,  but 
in  the  sleepers  also,  on  w^hich  I  have  ever  ridden. 
With  the  chandeliers  overhead  and  the  brackets 
alongside,  the  incandescent  bulbs  make  our  nightly 
dinner  a  really  dazzling  scene.  And  you  can  read 
or  write  anywhere.  But  one  looks  for  a  rough  road- 
bed, for  example,  and  one  finds  one  as  smooth  as 
ever  cars  spun  over  'down  the  ringing  grooves  of 
change.'  You  can  shave,  for  example,  in  complete 
security  and  comfort  at  fifty  miles  an  hour,  and  by 
'you'  I  do  not  mean  the  user  of  a  safety  razor — that 
'Man  with  a  Hoe'  can  glean  his  stubble  anywhere — 
but  the  user  of  a  real  razor;  'putting  his  sickle  to  the 
perilous  grain'  with  no  consciousness  of  peril.  " 

295 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 


"An  ounce  of  prevention  is  worth  a  pound  of 
cure."  The  automatic  block  system  is  generally  con- 
ceded to  be  the  most  effective  means  of  preventing 
railroad  collisions,  and  of  avoiding  derailments  in  case 
of  open  switches  or  broken  rails,  that  has  so  far  been 
devised,  and  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  furnishes  to 
its  patrons,  absolutely  free  of  charge,  the  protection 
afforded  by  this  system. 

The  principle  of  the  system  is  simple.  The  track 
is  divided  into  sections  or  "blocks"  a  mile  or  so  in 
length,  and  at  each  end  of  every  block  a  signal  is 
erected.  The  most  approved  form  of  signal  is  that 
known  as  the  "Semaphore,"  and  this  is  the  type  of 
signal  used  on  the  Union  Pacific.  It  consists  of  a 
post  about  twenty-five  feet  in  height,  with  an  arm  or 
blade  near  the  top,  the  position  of  this  arm  indicating 
to  engineers  of  approaching  trains  whether  or  not  it 
is  safe  to  proceed  through  the  block. 

If  there  is  a  train,  an  open  switch,  or  a  broken  rail 
in  the  block,  the  arm  stands  straight  out  from  the  post 
horizontally.  When  the  block  is  clear,  and  it  is  safe 
for  trains  to  proceed  through  it,  the  arm  is  pulled 
downward  until  it  stands  at  an  angle  of  about  thirty 
degrees  from  the  post.  At  night  a  red  light  is  dis- 
played at  the  top  of  the  post  when  the  arm  is  in  the 
horizontal  or  "danger"  position,  and  a  green  light  is 
displayed  when  the  arm  is  in  the  inclined  or  "clear" 
position. 

The  operation  of  the  signals  used  on  the  Union 
Pacific  is  entirely  automatic.  An  electric  current  flow- 
ing through  the  rails  of  the  track   holds  the  signal   in 

296 


SAFETY.  SERVICE.  SPEED 


the  clear  position  as  long  as  the  block  is  clear.  A 
train,  open  switch,  or  a  broken  rail  interrupts  this 
current,  thereby  releasing  the  electric  clutch  which  is 
holding  the  signal  clear,  and  the  arm  immediately  flies 
to  the  danger  position.  When  the  block  is  again 
clear,  the  signal  is  restored  to  the  clear  position  by  a 
small  electric  motor. 

It  is  the  unexpected  that  usually  causes  an  acci- 
dent w^here  the  human  brain  is  involved.  The  written 
and  unwritten  laws  of  railroading  cover  every  con- 
tingency which  may  arise,  as  far  as  possible.  To 
err  is  human,  how^ever.  Train  orders  are  sometimes 
misread  or  movements  contained  therein  forgotten  or 
overlooked.  It  is  invariably  the  case  that  the  guilty 
crew^  is  cock  sure  it  is  in  the  right,  w^hile  the  one 
having  the  rights  examines  its  orders  with  uncertainty. 
The  automatic  block  signals  now  keep  them  at  a 
respectful  distance  until  this  matter  is  settled.  The 
passengers  may  be  utterly  oblivious  to  the  fact  that 
what  is  known  as  a  "hazard"  has  occurred. 

The  train  dispatchers,  under  the  old  system  of 
single  track,  were  frequently  unfortunate  in  getting 
"them  together."  The  double  order  in  w^hich 
the  same  terms  were  used  to  each  train  involved,  the 
rules  compelling  the  train  dispatcher  to  send  it  sim- 
ultaneously to  each,  completing  it  only  in  the  order 
of  superiority,  greatly  lessened  this  responsibility. 
Even  then  a  mistake  w^as  not  impossible.  Now^  that 
he  has  the  assurance  that  the  block  signal  will  catch 
his  error,  the  brain  worry  of  the  train  dispatcher  is 
relieved  and  he  is  in  better  mental  condition  to  figure 

297 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

out  the  intricate  problems  necessary  to  successfully 
move  the  trains  with  minimum  delays.  It  is  quite 
noticeable  that,  under  the  block  system,  there  are 
fewer  mistakes  of  this  character,  as  well  as  a  greater 
efficiency  in  moving  the  trains. 

The  Union  Pacific  operates  its  trains  over  Sher- 
man Hill,  the  highest  point  on  the  Overland  Route, 
by  means  of  the  automatic  electric  staff,  with  per- 
missive features,  controlled  by  the  automatic  electric 
block,  a  system,  as  it  were,  of  double  protection.  In 
this  movement  trains  are  as  safe  from  collisions  as 
they  were  at  the  very  inception  of  the  staff  in  its 
primitive  form,  attested  by  the  fact  that  during  the 
last  year  12,611  trains  moved  over  this  piece  of 
single  track  w^ithout  train  orders,  and  there  has  been 
no  accident  of  this  character  in  the  staff  limits  since 
its  installation  some  four  years  ago. 

Railroad  mileage  in  the  United  States  has  reached 
the  grand  total  of  227,000  miles,  on  which  there  are 
now  installed  11,932  miles  of  automatic  electric 
block  signals.  Of  this  amount  the  Harriman  Lines 
have  to  their  credit  4,332  miles,  or  one  third  of  the 
total,  and  practically  all  of  this  system  of  protection 
west  of  the  Mississippi  River. 

The  cost  of  installing  is  approximately  $1,500  per 
mile,  w^ith  the  maintenance  cost  about  $150  a  mile, 
annually.  The  expense  formerly  incurred  by  acci- 
dents, which  are  in  this  way  prevented,  by  no  means 
compensated  for  the  cost  and  operation  of  such  signals. 
It  is  in  the  safeguarding  of  the  traveling  public  and 
employes,   however,   that  the  railroads  find  sufficient 


SAFETY,  SERVICE,  SPEED 


inducement,  and  also  in  the  increased  volume  of  busi- 
ness by  reason  of  the  feeling  of  security,  which 
makes  more  people  travel. 

The  right-of-way  for  100  feet  on  each  side  of  the 
track  is  fenced  in  over  the  entire  line,  as  a  protection 
to,  and  to  prevent  damage  from,  stray  cattle,  etc.  All 
ties  are  constantly  renewed  and  a  record  is  kept  in 
Omaha  of  every  tie  installed  and  the  length  of  time 
it  lasts.  The  steady  adherence  to  high  standards  is 
shown  also  in  the  replacing  of  all  lighter  structures 
with  steel  bridging.  Nearly  11,000  feet  of  steel 
bridging  has  been  built  to  replace  wooden  bridges, 
In  one  year  this  item  of  expense  cost  $2,000,000. 
Ninety-pound  rails  are  supplanting  eighty-pound 
rails  as  fast  as  they  can  be  laid. 


The   L..S  Aiiyelcs    l.iimtrd   urar   Omaha,    ,\rl-r:r   .;, 
(Note  signals  are  set  to  protect  train  as  long  as  it  remains  in  this  block.) 

299 


A  CHARMING   ILLUSTRATION 

"  Teachers  old  in  service  know  how  hard  it  is  to 
supply  accurate  and  pleasing  illustrations  in  the  elu- 
cidation of  a  study  which  will  help  to  fix  firmly  the 
subject  matter  in  the  mind  of  the  pupil.  It  would 
seem  sometimes  as  if  the  nature  of  illustration,  simile, 
and  the  like  had  been  well  nigh  exhausted,  so 
many  and  varied  are  the  vehicles  used.  Sometimes 
help  comes  from  an  unexpected  source,  and  the  very 
latest  instance  is  that  of  a  great  railroad  joining  the 
ranks  of  actual  educators. 

"The  Union  Pacific  Railroad  has  just  published  a 
charming  little  leaflet  entitled  *  A  Presidential  Boy  of 
Old  St.  Louis,'  and  it  is  a  first-class  demonstration  in 
practical  geography.  Briefly  told,  the  principal  of 
the  Eugene  Field  School,  St.  Louis,  had  upwards  of 
twenty  boys  select  a  railroad,  make  a  thorough  inves- 
tigation of  the  same,  and  then  take  a  party  of  friends 
over  the  system,  the  self-constituted  youthful  presi- 
dent acting  as  guide,  philosopher  and  friend  on  the 
trip.  Young  Master  Howard  Bassett,  who  had 
chosen  the  Union  Pacific,  carried  off  first  honors. 
The  quaintly  written  little  book  tells  of  what  the 
party  did  and  what  they  saw  and  is  well  worth 
perusal. 

"This  kind  of  practical  geography  is  equal  to  and, 
for  many  requirements,  better  than  the  much  vaunted 
'history  from  the  sources.'  A  boy  or  a  class  of 
children,  personally  conducted   on   an   extended   trip 


THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  WEST 

like  the  one  outlined  above,  will  have  received  some 
fresh  and  vital  impressions  not  to  be  gained  from  the 
text  books.  For  a  great  railway,  in  its  promotion  of 
the  region  through  which  it  passes,  is  cosmopolitan  in 
its  handling  of  the  subject,  manifold  in  its  picturing 
of  every  department  of  a  State,  commercial,  agricul- 
tural, industrial,  and  social. 

"The  voluminous  literature  put  forth  leaves  no 
point  untouched,  and  embraces  every  item  of  interest 
from  an  Indian  legend  to  the  number  of  cattle  in 
each  country.  Now,  this  kind  of  information  is 
more  racy  of  the  soil,  as  it  were,  more  direct,  more 
visibly  actual  than  can  be  found  in  the  majority  of 
text  books.  But  there  is  no  intention  of  urging  the 
substitution  of  railway  literature  for  the  authorized 
editions  used  now  in  the  public  schools.  Only  this, 
use  any  illustration  w^hich  is  clean,  clear,  accurate, 
helpful,  no  matter  where  you  get  it  from.  If  a 
baking  powder  advertisement  is  suggestive  use  it.  A 
great  railroad,  in  its  work  of  redeeming  from  the  wil- 
derness, settling,  upbuilding,  and  maintaining  new 
villages,  towns,  cities,  and  territories,  is  more  vitally 
interested  than  the  compiler  of  a  text  book.  And  it 
is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  we  of  the  West  better 
know  than  any  of  our  Eastern  brethren  what  railroads 
have  meant  in  the  progress  of  our  development. 
They  have  been  history  makers  on  a  magnificent  scale, 
and  the  record  of  their  achievements  will  broaden 
the  outlook  of  every  student.  For  we  of  this  vast 
Western  region  are  today  the  real  producers,  and  it 
is  our  products  which  are   the   mainstay  of  the  coun- 

302 


A  CHARMING  ILLUSTRATION 

try  when  it  comes  to  the  actual  necessities  of  bread 
and  butter  and  potatoes  and  beef.  In  addition  to 
the  knowledge  acquired  it  is  the  duty  of  every  boy 
and  girl  to  be  thoroughly  infornied  on  the  products, 
the  resources,  and  the  producing  power  of  his  imme- 
diate home  land.  No  danger  of  his  becoming  insu- 
lar. It's  a  big  world  and  there's  plenty  to  learn,  but 
'know  America  first.'  " — Colorado  School  Journal. 


On  the  Gray's  Peak  Route  in  Colorado 


The  Louisiana  Purchase  of  i8o: 


INFORMATION 

Concerning  fares  and  routes  will  be  furnished  gladly  by  any 
Union  Pacific  representative  specified  below: 

ATLANTA.  «A.— Candler  Building.  121  Peachtree  Street— 

A.  J.  DUTCHER  General  Agent 

BOSTON,  MASS.— 176  Washington  Street- 

CHE^lVN^I^w'^^S.^.^Eepot- New  England  Fr't  and  Pass'r  Agent 

Cni^i^'iE^^OJ^o^sonBo;^^^^^ Ticket  and  Freight  Agent 

W.  G.  NEIMYER General  Agent 

CINCINNATI,  OHIO— 53  East  Fourth  Street-  ^ 

W.  H.  CONNOR General  Agent 

COUNCIL  BLUFFS,   IOWA— 522  Broadway-  ^enerai  Agent 

J.  C  MITCHELL City  Ticket  Agent 

J.  W.  MAYNARD.  Transfer  Depot Ticket  Agent 

DENVER,  COLO.— 935-41  Seventeenth  Street- 

F.  B .  CHOATE General  Agent 

DE8  MOINES,  IOWA— 310  West  Fifth  Street- 

J .  W .  TURTLE Traveling  Passenger  Agent 

DETROIT,  MICH.— 11  Fort  Street  West- 

J.  C.  FERGUSON General  Agent 

HONG  KONG,  CHINA— Kings  Building-  ^ 

General  Passenger  Agent,  San  Francisco  Overland  Route 

HOUSTON,  TEX.— 

T  J.  ANDERSON Gen.  Pass'r  Agent,  G..  H.  &  S.  A.  R'y 

KANSAS  CITY,  MO.— 901  Walnut  Street-  «       .       .  •     •      y 

H.  G.  KAILL Ass'tGen.  Fr't  and  Pass'r  Agent 

LEAVENWORTH,  KAN.-Rooms  9  and  11  Leavenworth  National  Bank  B'ld'g— 

J.  J.  HARTNETT General  Agint 

LINCOLN,  NEB.— 1044  O  Street-  »^     «  cti  Ageui 

E.  B.  SLOSSON General  Agent 

LOS  ANGELES,  CAL.— 557  South  Spring  Street- 

H.  O.  WILSON GeneralAgent 

MINNEAPOLIS,  MINN.— 21  South  Third  Street- 

„„    H.  F.  CARTER District  Passenger  Agent 

NEW  ORLEANS,  LA.— 227  St.  Charles  Street- 

J.  H.  R.  PARSONS Gen,  Pass'r  Agent,  M.,  L.  &T  R'v 

NEW  YORK  CITY— 287  Broadway-  «     •     •*  ««  t.  ^^',  J-.  «  -i.  ri  y 

J.  B.  DeFRIEST General  Eastern  Agent 

NORFOLK,  NEB.— 414  Norfolk  Avenue-  cisiern  Ageni 

W.  R.  PARGETER Commercial  Agent 

OAKLAND,  CAL.— Corner  13th  Street  and  Broadway- 
Hi,  V.  BL ASDEL Agent  Passenger  Department 

OGDEN,  UTAH— 2514  Washington  Avenue-  A^eparimeni 

«T  A'«  iiV\^^wYfi» •••  V>-  •••:••  V  ;;••  •, <^ity  Passenger  and  Ticket  Agent 

OL\  MPIA,  WASH.— Percival  Dock— 

J.  C.  PERCIVAL Agent,  O.  &W  R  R 

OMAHA,  NEB.— 1324  Farnam  Street-  geni,.  w.  «  w.  k.  k. 

««^ J'-.  BEINDORFF   City  Passenger  and  Ticket  Agent 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA.— 830  Chestnut  Street- 

_       S.  C.  MILBOURNE General  Agent 

PITTSBURGH,  PA.— 539  Smithfield  Street- 

G.  G.  HERRING General  Agent 

PORTLAND,  ORE.— Third  and  Washington  Streets- 

_       C.  W,  STINGER City  Ticket  Agent.  O.  R.  &  N.  Co 

PUEBLO,  COLO.— 312  North  Main  Street- 

ST.  J;osVS.^a«o;-5d5  Francis  S^^^^^^^^ Commercial  Agent 

ST.  fo^is^te^^febiiveSireeV-^"'*  ^^"^  ^^'^'^  ^^^'^^'  ^*-  '''  *  ^^  '•  «'^ 

J.  G.  LOWE General  Aeent 

SACRAMENTO,  CAL.-1007  Second  Street- t^enerai  Agent 

o  .  ,  ri!,^,^^^.,'^^^^^^^ Freight  and  Passenger  Agent 

SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH— 156  Main  Street- 

B  A  Tvi  WW  i  T^J?Ay,'«  •;.•  Vi  •  ■  •  -.o  •«•  •  •  v.-  o  •  •  •  •  District  Freight  and  Passenger  Agent 
SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL.— 42  Powell  Street— 

SANloV^c'lS-igNorthFirstS^^^^^^^^     GeneralAgent 

SEATTEi^^^^'s^^V-leOeFirsrAvenue- ^^""'  ''^'"^""^  Department 

a««^*^,I^WA«-  ••-no^ GeneralAgent,  O.  &  W.  R.  R. 

SPOKANE,  WASH.— 603  Sprague  Avenue- 

av«5l.?;  ^^^SSJ^ General  Agent.  O.  R.  &  N.  Co. 

SYDNEY,  AUSTRALIA— 40 Pitt  Street- 

T  A n«iU  A    w  i^M    •  i, ••  •  1 : •  •  v.-  :\i : Australian  Passenger  Agent 

TACOMA,  WASH.— Berlin  Building— 

ROBERT  LEE Agent    O    AW    R    R 

TORONTO,  CANADA-Room  14  Janes  Building- ^®  '"  ^-  *  "  •  «•  «• 

YOK'ii^Agi?TA^fe:::4WaterStreet- Traveling  Passenger  Agent 

General  Passenger  Agent,  San  Francisco  Overland  Route 

E.  L.  LOMAX  W.  H.  MURRAY  R.  S.  RUBLE 

G»n,  Pass'r  Agent  Ass't  Gen.  Pass'r  Agent  Ass't  Gen.  Pass'r  Agent 

7-1-10-lOM.  «**^"^'  ^^»- 


EMPIRE 

OF      THE 

WEST 


1^ 


